Nóirín O'Sullivan

Nóirín O'Sullivan
Director of Strategic Partnerships for Europe at the International Association of Chiefs of Police
Assumed office
27 October 2017
Preceded by New office
20th Garda Commissioner
In office
25 November 2014 – 11 September 2017
Preceded by Martin Callinan
Succeeded by Dónall Ó Cualáin (Acting)
Personal details
Born Nóirín Eileen O'Sullivan
(1965-11-18) 18 November 1965
Dublin, Ireland
Nationality Irish
Spouse(s) Jim McGowan (m. 1996)
Children 1
Alma mater Garda Síochána College

Nóirín Eileen O'Sullivan (born 18 November 1965) is an Irish Garda who has served as Director of Strategic Partnerships for Europe at the International Association of Chiefs of Police since October 2017. She previously served as Garda Commissioner from 2014 to 2017.

The first woman to lead the Gardaí in its 92-year history,[1] O'Sullivan announced her resignation on 10 September 2017.[2]

In late October 2017 she was appointed Director of Strategic Partnerships for Europe at the International Association of Chiefs of Police.[3]

Career and experience

O'Sullivan is from Dublin, and joined the Garda Síochána in 1981.[4]

In 2000, she was promoted to Superintendent and served in the Garda Síochána College with responsibility for specialist training. She also worked as a Detective Superintendent in the Garda National Drugs Unit (GNDU). In 2003, she was promoted to Chief Superintendent and served as Detective Chief Superintendent at the Garda Technical Bureau and Human Resource Management.[5]

O'Sullivan was promoted to Assistant Commissioner in 2007, and served in the Western Region, followed by Human Resource Management.[5]

In June 2009, she was appointed Assistant Commissioner in charge of the Crime and Security Branch (CSB), with responsibility for Ireland's domestic state security. In this role she had responsibility for elite, specialist national units such as the Special Detective Unit, Emergency Response Unit and National Surveillance Unit.[5]

She became Deputy Commissioner of Operations in 2011.[6]

Commissioner and controversy

O’Sullivan was appointed Garda Commissioner on an interim basis after the resignation of Martin Callinan on 25 March 2014. She formally took over the role of Commissioner on a permanent basis following her appointment by the Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald on 25 November 2014, becoming the first female Commissioner to head the force since its foundation in 1922.[7]

O'Sullivan was mentioned in the 2017 Prime Time special broadcast concerning the Garda whistleblower scandal,[8] and her response to the Garda whistleblower scandal was included in the scope of inquiry for the first module of the Disclosures Tribunal.[9]

In April 2014, a month after her appointment as Garda Commissioner, an allegation of inflated breath test figures was brought to her attention, following a tip-off in the form of a letter sent to the Road Safety Authority.[10]

In March 2017, O'Sullivan came under pressure after a series of scandals came to light. It was announced that 14,700 people were wrongly convicted of motoring offences after they weren't given the opportunity to pay a Fixed Charge Notice.[11] Also, almost one million phantom breath tests were recorded on the Garda Pulse system, with figures claiming that 1,995,369 tests were carried out with only 1,061,381 actually taking place.[12] As well as that a Public Accounts Committee is investigating into financial mismanagement at Templemore Garda training college.[2]

Resignation as Commissioner

On 10 September 2017, after much pressure to step aside after a series of scandals, O'Sullivan announced her resignation effective midnight, stating that the "unending cycle of requests, questions, instructions and public hearings", which she described as "all part of a new – and necessary – system of public accountability", nevertheless left her with too little time to carry out such tasks as reforming the Garda Síochána "and meeting the obvious policing and security challenges".[13][14] She informed Department of Justice secretary general Noel Waters,[14] but did not speak to Minister for Justice Charles Flanagan, and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar reportedly learned about the resignation from his officials.[15]

Upon her planned retirement, Minister for Justice Charles Flanagan announced he was appointing Deputy Commissioner Dónall Ó Cualáin as Acting Commissioner while he search for a permanent appointment "in the coming weeks". He also expressed his "sincere gratitude" to O'Sullivan for her 36 years of public service. Opposition parties welcomed her resignation.[16] Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said she retired "in the best interests of the force".[17]

Her resignation had been long called for, with a commentator on Ireland's main news station RTÉ saying it was more a matter of "when" than "if". Opposition parties had also called for her resignation, including main opposition party Fianna Fáil[18] along with Sinn Fein, whose Deputy Leader Mary Lou McDonald publicly said her "game is up".[19] Despite these calls, Taoiseach Enda Kenny, and later his successor Leo Varadkar, both stated they had confidence in her.[20]

IACP

In late October 2017 the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) announced that Nóirín O’Sullivan has been appointed to the newly-created role of Director of Strategic Partnerships for Europe, to begin work later in 2017 and to be based in Ireland, the first time a member of the IACP's staff has been based outside the United States, as part of the IACP's aim to "further expand its global reach and representation".[3]

Educational qualifications

References

  1. ↑ "Garda has first female commissioner". Irish Independent. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Garda Commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan retires from office". Irish Times. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Former garda commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan secures new policing role". RTE. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  4. ↑ "Whistleblower welcomes O'Sullivan appointment as Garda Commissioner". Irish Examiner. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "An Garda Síochána - Management Biographies". An Garda Síochána. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  6. ↑ "History made as O'Sullivan is first ever female to be Garda chief". Herald. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  7. ↑ "Nóirín O'Sullivan is the new Garda Commissioner". Journal. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  8. ↑ "Garda chief says she will not step aside in whistleblower smear campaign row". Irish Independent. 13 February 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  9. ↑ Ryan, Órla (6 March 2017). "Most people want Nóirín O'Sullivan to resign or step aside as Garda Commissioner". thejournal.ie. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  10. ↑ Lally, Conor (28 March 2017). "Garda account of breath-test debacle wearing ever thinner". Irish Times.
  11. ↑ "Tom Clonan: Noirín O'Sullivan's performance in recent days is simply not credible". The Journal. 28 March 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  12. ↑ "An Garda Siochana review will be thorough, Enda Kenny pledges". Irish Independent. 28 March 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  13. ↑ Sasha Brady; John Downing (10 September 2017). "Garda Commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan announces retirement". Irish Independent. Retrieved 13 June 2018. In a statement released today, Ms O'Sullivan said she was stepping down because the "unending cycle" of investigations and inquiries has made it difficult to "implement the deep cultural and structural reform necessary to modernise" An Gardai Siochana. ... The O’Sullivan resignation ...
  14. 1 2 Independent.ie Newsdesk (11 September 2017). "O'Sullivan's six hours' notice took ministers by surprise". Irish Independent. Retrieved 13 June 2018. It was late yesterday afternoon when Ms O'Sullivan informed the Department of Justice secretary general Noel Waters of her decision to retire from midnight last night.
  15. ↑ Independent.ie Newsdesk (11 September 2017). "'She took the decision because she thought it was the right thing to do' - Justice Minister reacts to Noirin O'Sullivan's stepping down". Irish Independent. Retrieved 13 June 2018. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar only discovered news through his officials ... Minister Flanagan said he was 'not surprised' and was informed at 5pm on Sunday ... "I wasn't surprised by the news ... It was indicated to me at approximately 5pm yesterday evening." ... Mr Flanagan added that he didn't speak to the Garda Commissioner since before she took her summer break in July. ... The Irish Independent reports she did not consult with Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan who was in England on business. It is understood Taoiseach Leo Varadkar only became aware of the news from his officials.
  16. ↑ "Opposition parties welcome Nóirín O'Sullivan's departure". Irish Times. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  17. ↑ McHugh, Michael (10 September 2017). "Taoiseach says Garda Commissioner retired 'in the best interests of the force'". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  18. ↑ "O'Sullivan should 'consider her position' warns Fianna Fáil as controversies mount". The Sun Newspaper. 26 March 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  19. ↑ Clerkin, Pauric (19 July 2017). "Sinn Féin says Taoiseach needs to remove Noirin O'Sullivan as Garda Commissioner - Northern Sound". Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  20. ↑ Harrison, Shane (28 March 2017). "Garda chief has government confidence". BBC News. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
Police appointments
Preceded by
Martin Callinan		 Garda Commissioner
2014–2017		 Succeeded by
Dónall Ó Cualáin
(Acting)
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