A seemingly innocuous mistake made by civil servants nearly a decade ago has unexpectedly emerged as a potential threat to Ireland’s national security.
The Public Appointments Service (PAS) is currently accepting applications from external candidates to lead Ireland’s intelligence service, responsible for safeguarding the state from espionage.
This comes after no senior garda has applied for the position as they would incur substantial tax bills of approximately €100,000 upon retirement following an error in 2014 introducing tax rules on pensions, which means a non-Irish citizen may be appointed.
Unlike strict criteria enforced by intelligence services in Europe and the US, candidates for the post are not required to possess an Irish passport, reveal their parentage or disclose affiliations with other nations.
The deputy commissioner responsible for policing and security is the most sensitive position in the force. The holder is responsible for protecting the government, civil service and the public, and also oversees counterintelligence, anti-terrorist operations and confronting organised crime. They also have access to the identities of informants and people targeted by intrusive surveillance.
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Candidates for such positions are usually subjected to vetting to ensure they have lived in the country for more than a decade and have no family ties to other countries. Their immediate and extended families are also vetted to ensure they do not have allegiances to other countries.
Dan Lomas, a lecturer in intelligence studies at University of Nottingham, said the UK enforced clear restrictions on anyone who was not a British citizen or had not spent considerable time living in the country.
“The requirement for candidates to have a lengthy history of residing in the country aims to eliminate potential pressure points that could render candidates vulnerable to influence from hostile states. People with family members living in foreign countries could see their relatives targeted,” he said.
John Sipher, a retired CIA officer, noted that very few countries would appoint an external candidate to an intelligence role. “We certainly wouldn’t do that,” he said, alluding to stringent national security policies in place in the United States.
The issue yet again highlights the government’s benign attitude to security issues according to gardai, military and academic sources.
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Catherine Murphy, the Social Democrats’ spokesperson on justice, said: “This [pensions] issue bars the very people we need to apply for this job — senior gardai — because the financial impediment is so great. The justice minister [Helen McEntee] must address this issue because if she doesn’t, we will recruit from outside of the country.
“I can’t imagine something like this occurring in Britain or indeed anywhere else.”
The Department of Justice did not respond to inquiries.
@johnmooneyIRL
