PERSON: Drew Harris

Garda Síochána in the Republic of Ireland

Commissioner

Jeremy Andrew Harris, OBE, QPM (born 5 April 1965) is the current Commissioner of the Garda Síochána in the Republic of Ireland, having assumed office in September 2018. He previously served as Deputy Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) from 2014 to 2018.

Harris’s father, senior RUC officer Alwyn Harris, was murdered by the Provisional IRA in 1989.

Harris joined the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) in 1983, rising to become Deputy Chief Constable of the PSNI in October 2014.

Following an international selection process, which included a salary increase to €250,000 to attract greater interest, Harris was announced as the new Garda Commissioner on 26 June 2018, becoming the first Commissioner to be appointed from outside the Garda Síochána. He took over the leadership of the Garda Síochána from Dónall Ó Cualáin, who had served as acting Garda Commissioner since the resignation of Nóirín O’Sullivan in September 2017, following a number of Garda scandals. His appointment as Garda Commissioner was initially for five years.

In July 2023, the Garda Representative Association announced the rank and file of the Gardaí were holding a vote of no-confidence in Commissioner Harris over roster disputes. Harris stated that regardless the outcome of the vote, he would not be leaving the position. The vote was passed with 98.7% voting in favour of the motion and 1.3% against.

>> Wikipedia