Analysis: Revelations from the Mor ris tribunal make the Tánaiste's task easier, writes Stephen Collins.
It was hardly a surprise that two expert reports proposed a radical reform of the management structure of the Garda, and spelled out the necessity for far more civilian posts at all levels in the force.
The need for this kind of change has been glaringly obvious for at least a decade but has not happened due to political cowardice in the face of rigid institutional structures.
Tánaiste Michael McDowell made Garda reform one of his key objectives when he took over as Minister for Justice in 2002. As long as he acts on the recommendations of the reports published yesterday from the Garda Síochána Inspectorate and the Garda Síochána Advisory Group, chaired by Senator Maurice Hayes, Mr McDowell should be well on the road to his objective just before the general election next May.
The slowness of the Irish political and administrative system to come to terms with the need for change is illustrated by both reports.
The report of the inspectorate, headed by former Boston police commissioner Kathleen O'Toole, kicked off with a blunt statement of fact: "The existing Garda organisational structure does not conform to best international practice."
A few paragraphs later it said the force was woefully out of date in its lack of senior civilian managers: "A structure of this nature was the norm in policing 20 years ago, but it certainly is not today. Most large police organisations in Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere have moved decisively in the direction of civilianising senior management positions not requiring sworn police personnel."
The report by Senator Hayes's group dovetailed neatly with the inspectorate's. It recommended that civilian directors with the appropriate experience be appointed to deal with finance, human resources, information technology and forensic support. It also recommended a director of communications from outside the force.
The Tánaiste welcomed both reports and pledged he would proceed with their implementation as quickly as possible. Saying he did not believe there would be significant resistance from the Garda Representative Association to "civilianisation", Mr McDowell said that at management level in the Garda there was a recognition that civilian ratios must be improved.
The shocking revelations in the Morris tribunal report about the behaviour of some gardaí has certainly made the Tánaiste's task easier, both in terms of dealing with the Garda and in mobilising public opinion on his side. Certainly the arguments in favour of civilianisation in both reports are unanswerable.
Labour's justice spokesman, Brendan Howlin, backed the reforms as "a useful contribution towards modernising the outdated and old-fashioned structures of our police service". But he had a fair point in questioning why it had taken the Fianna Fáil-PD Government 9½ years to deal with the issue.
Mr McDowell doesn't have a lot of time left to implement the reforms, but at his press conference he was anxious to stress that he was not thinking about civilianisation simply in terms of bringing in new staff to perform clerical and filing tasks.
Civilians will be employed at all levels, from senior management to expert analysis, and from human resources to communications.
What was striking was that both reports recommended enhanced civilian support for senior Garda management. The highest-ranking civilian will be brought in at deputy Garda commissioner level to deal with administration and resource management, including areas such as finance and information technology. At present there are two deputy commissioners but the recruitment of a third to deal with strategic change management is under way.
The new civilian post will effectively replace the existing deputy commissioner for strategic and resource management. Another change is that eligibility for deputy commissioner posts within the force is being extended beyond serving assistant commissioners to chief superintendents.
Both reports also recommend the creation of a new post of assistant commissioner for professional standards, reporting directly to the Garda Commissioner. The Garda Inspectorate report also recommends that three new executive civilian posts be created: legal adviser, director of human resource management, and director of information and communications technology.
The advisory group also calls for the maximum delegation of operational responsibility to the assistant commissioners in charge of the regions, with appropriate support by civilian staff in areas such as finance, human resources and analysis.
The Garda Inspectorate report also recognises the central role of these regional commissioners and the core policing functions they exercise, and recommends a realignment of the Garda Síochána's organisational chart to reflect their importance.
Mr McDowell said the Government was fully supportive of these recommendations and he would be discussing their speedy implementation with the Garda Commissioner.