FORMER GARDA COMMISSIONER Martin Callinan doesn’t get a mention in the opening of the gardaí’s annual report for 2013, despite overseeing all of the measures implemented last year.
In her foreword, the acting Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan doesn’t touch on the circumstances in which she recently took on the role – the resignation of Martin Callinan.
Callinan resigned from the force earlier this year in the wake of controversy surrounding his handling of a number of issues within the force.
Central to this was referring to the actions of two garda whisteblowers as “disgusting”.
O’Sullivan has taken up the job on an interim basis, but doesn’t give a nod to her predecessor in the report.
In her foreword, she pays tribute Detective Adrian Donohoe, who was murdered at the start of last year.
The detective was shot in a credit union in Dundalk, and was the first garda to die in the line of duty since 1996.
More than 400,000 hours of CCTV footage was reviewed in an attempt to catch the perpetrators.
“Adrian epitomised all that An Garda Síochána stands for and tragically died in service of his community,” she wrote.
The investigation in relation to Adrian’s murder remains live and our determination to bring the people who carried out this cowardly act to justice remains steadfast.
O’Sullivan also touches upon the increasingly strained budget of the force.
Reports have suggested that a supplementary budget of up €70 million will be required later this year.
She said that ‘a range of measures designed to increase efficiencies and cut costs’ were introduced in 2013, and noted that there was a reduction in most types of crime in that year.
“Although policing may not always be delivered in the form it has been previously, we will maintain our commitment to deliver a service that meets the expectations of the citizens we serve,” she wrote.
O’Sullivan concludes that gardaí will continue to ‘do everything’ to maintain the trust of local communities.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say