'We are not hiring a commissioner from North Korea!' - Flanagan backs new Garda chief
Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has dismissed concerns about the appointment of Garda commissioner Drew Harris, saying the Government is not hiring a police chief from North Korea.
Sufficient vetting of the former PSNI deputy chief constable was also conducted, he said, amid criticism that state security services have been unable to properly scrutinise Mr Harris’s background.
Dónall Ó Cualáin will step down as acting Garda commissioner today and the new Garda commissioner takes up his role. An attestation ceremony will take place at Kevin Street garda HQ.
Mr Harris will be attested by a peace commissioner and will sign the Garda Code of Ethics and the Official Secrets Act. Last month, the High Court dismissed a challenge aimed at stopping Mr Harris from taking up his role. It was brought by a relative of a person killed in the troubles. Researcher Ciaran MacAirt had claimed Mr Harris lacked the independence required to be commissioner due to this PSNI role.
He claimed Mr Harris had signed and is bound by the UK’s Official Secrets Act, making it difficult to fully discharge his duties as the next Garda chief. The action was dismissed.
Former gardaí and defence force members are also concerned that, while Mr Harris is an Irish citizen, he cannot be securely vetted, as he worked in intelligence roles in another state and that he may have problems overseeing any historical inquiries into the past.
However, the justice minister rubbished the claims and says there was vetting of the new garda chief. He also denied there was a conflict in Mr Harris signing the official secrets act here after doing the same for the UK.
I see this as an attempt to somehow damage the commissioner even before he starts. I think it is very unfair,” he said.
Once attested, Mr Harris would be subject to the same legal obligations as any garda, he told RTÉ. “He has defended democracy and the rule of law all his professional life. His father was brutally murdered by enemies of democracy,” said the minister, referring to the the IRA killing of Mr Harris’s father in a car bombing 30 years ago.
The criticism was “politically motivated”, said Mr Flanagan, adding: “We are not hiring a commissioner from North Korea or Russia. We are hiring a policeman from a police service on our island. We are hiring somebody whose track record we know to be sound.
Meanwhile, the minister has told TDs they must waive any scrutiny of the planned referendum on removing the reference to a woman’s place in the home from the Constitution or the vote will not go ahead.
He told the Oireachtas Justice Committee, in a letter, that there was only a “small window” to now arrange for the vote for October 26, as is planned.
TDs will debate tomorrow if a gender-neutral clause or a reference to carers should be inserted into the Constitution instead of a straight deletion of the woman’s place in the home. However, any scrutiny of the planned vote will derail the referendum, Mr Flanagan has warned. He wrote:
“I am greatly concerned that the window of opportunity to hold a referendum to remove Article 41.2 of the Constitution is rapidly closing. The Referendum Commission has indicated that it needs to begin working on the referendum proposal immediately.”
The move will add pressure to the committee which meets tomorrow.
