Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan has said he hopes to be able to bring the name of the new Garda Commissioner to Cabinet in July.
He said the competition to replace Drew Harris will start "very shortly".
Mr O’Callaghan said he has no doubt there will be people from outside the force applying but he also wants to ensure that the best candidates from within also apply.
None of the current gardaí on the senior leadership team who graduated from Templemore are prepared to apply because of current taxation rules on their pensions which do not apply to candidates from another police force.
Mr O’Callaghan urged everyone in senior garda management who is interested to apply and said he would do his "best to ensure that candidates within the force will have equitable and similar terms and conditions when it comes to what's on offer if they decide to become Gardaí Commissioner".
AGSI criticises minister for inaction on policing issues
Separately, Mr O’Callaghan has rejected criticisms of the Garda Sergeants and Inspectors of the new disciplinary and conduct rules.
The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors has strongly criticised the Minister for Justice for what it said is his "inaction on key policing issues and garda industrial relations".
The association, which opened its annual conference in Kerry, said Mr O'Callaghan continues to ignore "repeated warnings" about An Garda Síochána's operational policing model, which it said every garda and large numbers of the public knows "is not working".
General Secretary Ronan Clogher said the change to policing has been "a disaster" and neither the minister nor the Commissioner are listening.
Garda sergeants and inspectors also want a review of the anti-corruption unit, a move from handwritten to digital custody records and the minister to address "the growing issue of citizen journalism and its impact on policing".
Mr O'Callaghan is not yet three months in the job, but already the association representing garda sergeants and inspectors is not happy with him and expressed these feelings at their annual conference in Kerry.
The AGSI said inaction by the minister on key policing issues and garda industrial relations is eroding morale and trust within the force.
He has, it said, ignored repeated warnings about the Garda Operating Policing Model, introduced by Commissioner Drew Harris.
Sergeants and inspectors say the change in responsibilities for superintendents from geographical areas has meant that people do not know who is in charge or what they are responsible for.
The AGSI said the new areas of responsibility are too large and that while one superintendent could be 1km from a serious crime, the officer to whom responsibility would be assigned could be 200km away.
The model, it said, is also leading to rural areas being denuded of policing as gardaí are pulled to the busier more densely populated areas of the division, with, for example, gardaí being sent from Longford to police in Mayo and from Cavan and Monaghan to police the eastern side of the division in Louth.
Sergeants and inspectors say the model is breaking the link between gardaí and their local community because local gardaí are being pulled to cover other areas and are not policing their own localities and getting to know the people in their own communities.
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The association also said the policing model has removed gardaí from the streets because they are now spending more time in garda stations doing paperwork.
Mr O'Callaghan said he had taken suggestions made by the representative associations, including the AGSI on board but he believes the conduct regulations are fair.
Govt reforms damaging 'fabric of frontline policing', says AGSI head
Mr Clogher said civilianisation has "created another layer in a chain of correspondence" with gardaí often not knowing who to send an email to and sending it to everyone.
Mr Clogher said the Government is continuing to "press ahead" with implementing reforms that gardaí believe are damaging "the very fabric of frontline policing".
"We are worried," Mr Clogher said.
"It’s concerning given he only assumed the role a number of months ago and does not bode well for the organisation for the next five years," he added.
The association has also strongly criticised the introduction of new disciplinary regulations which commenced earlier this month under the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024.
The AGSI said they were introduced without any training or proper consultation and that gardaí feel now feel they are being treated like "second class citizens" by what could be "the most drastic change to their employment rights"
At the conference, 158 delegates will debate 15 motions over the next three days.
They are calling for an independent review of the Operating Policing Model and reviews of the roles and responsibilities of the Anti-Corruption Unit and Internal Affairs.
At a time when garda numbers "are stretched due to a retention crisis and prolonged recruitment deficits", delegates in Dublin, Cork, Westmeath and Louth are calling on the Minister for Justice to allow those who have completed 30 years’ service and are eligible for a full pension, to discontinue their pension contributions.
Concerns over effect of 'citizen journalism' on policing
Sergeants and inspectors in Tipperary, Laois, Offaly and Dublin also want the minister to address the growing issue of so called "citizen journalism" and its effect on policing.
They say they are concerned about its impact on the wellbeing and safety of both the public and gardaí through potential harassment and its potential impact on the integrity of investigations and other operational challenges it creates.
They want the Minister to ensure the Garda Commissioner provides appropriate and adequate training along with clear and robust policies designed to protect gardaí and minimise their exposure to abuse through social media.
Officers in Dublin and Mayo are calling for the establishment of full-time Forensic Collision Investigation Units with sufficiently trained Forensic Collision Investigators in each garda region to support the investigation of Fatal and Serious Road Traffic Collisions.
Delegates in Cavan and Monaghan want the Garda Commissioner to develop and publish a National Organisational Strategic Plan for each garda division in the event of a 'Red Weather Warning' and to learn lessons from Storm Éowyn.
They say this plan needs to offer clear guidance to all as to which resources, equipment and practices are to be adopted when policing these events, particularly in relation to the need for generators in custody stations.
Gardaí in Kerry, meanwhile, want the minister and commissioner to examine the proposal to transition from the current handwritten custody record prisoner management system, to a digital platform to improve efficiency, security, data accuracy and overall effectiveness in managing prisoners.
The AGSI’s criticism of the new Operating Policing Model introduced by Commissioner Harris mirror those of the Garda Superintendents last year.
They described the model as "idealistic" and "rushed or forced through without consideration" of the impact on the people tasked to deliver it and more importantly on the communities the gardaí serve.
President of the Association of Garda Superintendents Detective Superintendent Colm Murphy said that because of the Operating Policing Model Divisions, they are losing the links with local communities and with their personnel.
The association cited the Clare/Tipperary Division as an example of an area that is too large and with limited resources.
Previously there were four superintendents in Co Clare but under the new policing model there is now just one, based in Ennis.
The previous superintendents were also based in Killaloo, Ennistymon and Kilrush.
The association said there was only one detective superintendent in that division with responsibility for all serious crime from Loop Head on the Atlantic Coast to the Tipperary border with Kilkenny.
It also pointed out that the detective superintendent for Cork County’s area of responsibility stretches from Youghal to the Beara Peninsula and up to Mitchelstown, Charleville and Millstreet.
O'Callaghan not attending GRA conference 'gross mistake’
Social Democrats Spokesperson for Social Justice Gary Gannon has criticised Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan’s decision not to attend the Garda Representative Association conference later this month.
It follows the decision by the Association not to invite the Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris, to the conference for a second consecutive year.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Drivetime, Mr Gannon labelled the move by Mr O’Callaghan a "gross mistake".
"For any of us who care about the manner in which our cities, villages and towns are policed, we understand the pressure that the frontline Gardaí are under," he said.
"For a minister for the second year in a row to refuse to go to the conference, hear directly from them, I actually think shows enormous disrespect to those we ask to put themselves in harm's way for us."
The GRA said it has no confidence in Commissioner Harris and remains unhappy about unresolved industrial relations within the organisation.
