Leo Varadkar takes aim at gardai threatening no confidence ballot in Commissioner Drew Harris

Speaking to reporters in Louth on Friday, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that Drew Harris will not be removed as Garda Commissioner as he argued that teachers in a staff room do not get to decide who the school principal is.

Louise Burne Political Correspondent

14:14, 04 Aug 2023

[Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris]

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Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris(Image: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos)

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has backed Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and said that he will not be removed from his role if a ballot of no confidence is passed by rank and file Garda.

Following a warning from the Garda Representative Association (GRA) that they will table the no confidence motion, Mr Varadkar said that it is not the case teachers in the staff room decide who the principal is.

The GRA met with Mr Harris earlier this week to discuss concerns about an impending change to rosters.

Since the pandemic, Garda have been working four 12 hour shifts followed by four days off. Mr Harris wants to revert to an older roster where Garda work six 10 hour shifts followed by four days off, something the union has objected to.

At the meeting on Thursday, Mr Harris told the GRA and informed them that the roster change would go ahead.

The GRA, which represents 11,000 rank and file Garda, later said that the no confidence ballot will proceed.

Speaking in Louth on Friday, the Taoiseach said if the ballot does pass Justice Minister Helen McEntee will not remove Mr Harris from his post.

The Government has confidence in Commissioner Harris, Mr Varadkar told reporters.

The Commissioner is appointed by Government after a fair competition and we stand by that process.

It's not the case that the teachers in the staff room decide who the principal is.

It's not the case that the players decide who the coach is.

The Garda Commissioner is appointed by the Government after a fair and free process that people can apply for.

We stand over that appointment and we have confidence in him.

In a statement on Thursday evening, a Garda spokesperson said that Commissioner Harris only found out about the potential no confidence ballot in the media and met with the union to ascertain why such an extraordinary ballot is being undertaken.

During the meeting, he insisted that the change to the rostering system could go ahead as he does not believe the current system serves the public and supports the most vulnerable in society, ensures the health and wellbeing of Garda, and allows the Commissioner to effectively and efficiently manage the organisation within the budget available.

Elsewhere, Mr Varadkar said that there will be more Garda on the roads this weekend as he expressed concern about the increasing number of road deaths.

He said: I'm a former Transport Minister, I'm a member of a family who lost somebody on the roads. It really concerns me, it really pains me to see an increase in road deaths.

Some 100 people have been killed on Irish roads so far this year.

In the first six months of the year, there were 95 deaths on the road, the highest number in six years.

We've made so much progress as a country over the past 10 or 20 years and to see that going backwards really worries me. It worries me deeply.

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Fundamentally, it's also about our own behaviours. Very simple things: wearing seatbelts, not drinking and driving, keeping to the speed limit, not looking at your phone while you're driving.

I really would appeal to people. Let's try and make this bank holiday a bank holiday on which nobody does on the roads.

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