Former PSNI officer among three new senior Garda appointments

The Policing Authority has confirmed three new appointments to the rank of assistant Garda commissioner.

Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) chief superintendent Jonathan Roberts was among the appointments, alongside two Garda chief superintendents promoted to the senior positions.

Mr Roberts previously served as head of learning and development in the PSNI, as well as head of professional standards, which included overseeing anti-corruption efforts.

Garda chief superintendent Eileen Foster, in charge of the Kerry division, was also appointed to the rank of assistant commissioner. She was previously a detective superintendent in Garda National Protective Services Bureau, and before that held a number of policing roles in Cork in her 31 years in An Garda Síochána.

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The third appointment was chief superintendent Paul Cleary, who had been a detective chief superintendent in charge of the Garda National Cybercrime Bureau. He had also served as a detective superintendent for specialist units in the Dublin region.

Some 32 people applied for the senior Garda positions, 27 men and five women. Mr Roberts had been the only applicant from the PSNI, with the rest coming from members of the Garda.

There are eight assistant Garda commissioners, as well as two deputy commissioners, working under Garda Commissioner Drew Harris.

Mr Harris had served as deputy chief constable of the PSNI before being appointed Garda Commissioner in September 2018.

A Garda spokeswoman said the roles each new assistant commissioner would be tasked with overseeing would be announced “in due course”.

In a statement, the Policing Authority, the oversight body of An Garda Síochána, said the appointments had been made following a three-stage selection process.