A small number of senior gardaí have applied for the role of Deputy Garda Commissioner after a protracted recruitment process and several missed deadlines.
Attempts to recruit a new deputy commissioner, which is considered the most sensitive security post in the country, have been ongoing for almost a year. Most senior gardaí had refused to apply for the job due to concerns they would be landed with large tax liabilities if successful.
Senior gardaí are worried that they will be landed with significant tax bills under the pension rules – up to €300,000 for the current assistant commissioners on retirement, rising up to €500,000 for deputy commissioners.
The rules, which were introduced in 2014, require civil servants to pay tax on their pensions if they are worth more than €2 million. This tax is payable on the entire pension, including the initial lump sum payment.
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As a result, most applications to date have come from police officers who served outside the State for most or all of their career.
The post, which is responsible for a wide range of policing areas, including organised crime, terrorism and national security, is the second most senior position in An Garda Síochána.
The deadline for applications was due to close last week but was deferred by seven days after few suitable candidates came forward and a group of senior gardaí wrote to Minister for Justice Helen McEntee requesting an extension.
Since then, Government officials have been working through backchannels to quietly assure potential candidates that the tax issue will be solved after the general election, which is widely expected to take place in the autumn.
As a result, a small number of Assistant Garda Commissioners, the next most senior garda rank, made applications before the final deadline expired at 3pm on Thursday.
Sources said that, though a number of gardaí have applied, these applications may be withdrawn if the pensions issue is not resolved soon.
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