Letters: New garda commissioner Justin Kelly has a big job ahead as he tries to turn force around

Irish Independent

4 days ago

While I, like many others, am delighted to see a homegrown member succeed to the highest echelons of the force, Justin Kelly will have his work cut out for him given the myriad problems facing him, including the recently published Crowe report.
The dogs on the street know that the present model of policing just doesn't work and has been shown to be more of a hindrance than a help to both the public and to gardaí.
Mr Kelly's main tasks will be recruitment and retention of gardaí, and to stem the flow of resignations which has dogged the force these past number of years. While the Government has ramped up its attempts to recruit, the expected increase in numbers hasn't materialised.
Morale in the force has been at an all-time low, with many frontline gardaí I've spoken to concerned that the amalgamation of divisions, reduction in districts and closure of smaller stations expose them and the public to unnecessary dangers.
The issue of over-discipline and internal oversight will be another factor he will have to contend with.
While he may have master's in criminal justice and in serious crime, Mr Kelly will have to master an ingrained and faulty ideology that has caused major friction between the garda associations and the office of commissioner itself. How he will handle all of these issues, while attempting to appease his political overlords and those in the PCSA (Policing and Community Safety Authority), while governing a force in transformation and change, is anyone's guess.
What makes him tick, and how will he use his management skills to radically change the narrative and bring together a force that has seen a huge chasm between those at the top and those who risk their lives on our behalf every day? Well, the proof will definitely be in the pudding.
Christy Galligan, Letterkenny, Co Donegal
Stop sneering – remote working can unlock huge potential of rural Ireland
Sinéad Ryan and others in the media appear to be taking great delight in AIB's decision to force staff back to the office three days per week ('AIB wants its staff back to the office more – they should consider themselves lucky', Irish Independent, August 1).
As a public servant who worked almost exclusively from home during the pandemic, I have written at length to this newspaper and elected representatives on this topic (all on my own time, I might add). Working from home is not always ideal. While one is sometimes more able to focus on specific tasks, there can also be domestic distractions and it can be isolating too. I will admit there is an increased sense of collegiality and more opportunities for collaboration when working from the office.
However, remote working, by its very nature, can be done from a number of different locations. Most effectively, perhaps, from one of the many state-of-the art 'remote hubs' the government spent millions on establishing around the country during Covid and which are now, for the most part, gathering dust.
This largely untapped resource could be the key to unlocking a new digital decentralisation. These hubs could effectively become branch offices, allowing people from remote regions to live and work, settle down and start families in their own locality. Negating the need for long commutes or relocation to already congested and expensive urban areas. Breathing new life into rural towns which are currently in decline.
If the public sector took the lead on this (it was public money spent on these hubs, after all) others would surely follow. It would sure beat reading endless opinion pieces by mean-spirited columnists gloating about spoiled workers being dragged back to the office by tough, uncompromising, bombastic bosses. Yawn…
Paddy Sharkey, Kilcar, Co Donegal
Digital divide in literacy poses serious risks to the future of our democracy
A century ago, mass literacy helped build liberal democracy; today, its erosion may accelerate its decline. Long-form reading – the kind that trains attention, deep reasoning and tolerance for complexity – is quietly becoming a class-based skill. As smartphones colonise ever more of daily life, this cognitive bifurcation will harden.
We already see the outlines: elites paying fees to shield their children from screens, while poorer families navigate algorithm-driven content designed to addict. The result is not just cultural decay but political vulnerability. A distracted electorate, trained on dopamine loops and meme-slop, is less able to scrutinise policy, follow evidence or defend democratic norms.
Ireland, with a highly educated population, still young in its republic, would do well to recognise this as a national risk. Literacy was once the route to dignity. If it is allowed to drift into the realm of the privileged, we may soon find that the real digital divide was not access to devices but the ability to think beyond them.
Enda Cullen, Tullysaran, Co Armagh
Disgusting racist attacks on Indian community do not represent real Ireland
The increasing number of physical attacks on members of the Indian community living in Ireland (which have led to the Indian embassy issuing a safety advisory notice) is a cause of growing concern.
To think that the Indian constitution was significantly influenced by the Irish Constitution, and in particular the shared provision for government to promote the social and economic welfare of all the people.
How the founders of our Constitution must be turning in their graves at today's horrendous racist attacks.
Mark Hogan, Wicklow town
Gavin's Football Review Committee has been real winner this GAA season
After the camogie final next Sunday, the 'hooter' on GAA inter-county season 2025 will sound, leaving only speculation and opinion as to the teams of the year and the players of the season. I have for many weeks now, settled on my team of 2025, namely, the Football Review Committee captained by Jim Gavin.
The captain and his team have certainly put in the graft, have stuck to their game plan, with perceptive flexibility as needed, and haven't shirked their essential responsibilities.
Thus, they have scored championship-winning goals in the radical reappraisal and rehabilitation of Gaelic football. My only concern now is, that if this team features again next year, football will galvanise itself as 'the new hurling' of the GAA world, an anathema for a Kilkenny man.