Is crime so bad and the problems of the Garda Siochana so great that no one feels they can put a gloss on the situation? The Force has just lost assistant commissioner Tom King and it now emerges that the recently advertised £30,000-a-year job as special public relations officer for the Force, working directly to Commissioner Pat Byrne, has not been filled.
One name mentioned for the post was that of John Gallagher, formerly with Aer Rianta. He chose instead to work for his old friend Ray Burke, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and now operates at the Minister's side, whether at Iveagh House or the UN.
His welcome in the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) was less than enthusiastic, but since the planning row has erupted he has tended to deal with this aspect, while the DFA diplomats look after foreign and Northern policy. There has been so much on the Minister's plate that relations between all concerned are much better than originally anticipated.
Meanwhile, the Gardai have yet to find a suitable PR person.