New Garda Commissioner announced by Minister Jim O’Callaghan
- Published on: 29 July 2025
- Last updated on: 29 July 2025
The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O’Callaghan, has today (Tuesday) announced that the government has appointed Justin Kelly to the post of Garda Commissioner for a term of five years from 1 September next.
Minister O’Callaghan said:
“I am very pleased that the government has today accepted my recommendation to appoint Justin Kelly, who is currently serving as Deputy Commissioner Security, Strategy and Governance, as Commissioner of An Garda Síochána following an open competition conducted by publicjobs. The role of Garda Commissioner is one of the most challenging and impactful leadership positions in Ireland’s public service and the appointment process was suitably rigorous.
“I am satisfied that Justin Kelly is both qualified and particularly well suited to the role of Commissioner given his extensive leadership experience over the last 30 years in some of the most challenging issues facing An Garda Síochána including national security, domestic and sexual violence, and organised crime. I know Justin is fully committed to providing a high visibility, highly trusted policing service to the public in keeping with the Garda mission of Keeping People Safe.”
The recruitment process for the new Garda Commissioner was the first undertaken under section 26 of the new Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024 which the Minister commenced in April. A three-week recruitment campaign was held by public jobs (formerly the Public Appointments Service) in May, including an international search for suitable candidates, which resulted in 14 candidates. The selection process included two interviews and a presentation by candidates as well as a detailed psychometric assessment.
Deputy Commissioner Kelly was selected as the preferred candidate and recommended for appointment by publicjobs and he was today appointed by the government as Commissioner with effect from 1 September next. Commissioner Drew Harris will continue to lead An Garda Síochána until that date, at which time he will retire after 41 years of service to policing on the island of Ireland, including a total of seven years as Garda Commissioner.
The Minister said:
"There will be further opportunities over the next month to reflect on Commissioner Harris’s contribution, but I really want to recognise his leadership and commitment over the last seven years. The government is very grateful to him for leading An Garda Síochána with such dedication, skill and integrity. It is a measure of his steady and effective leadership that the organisation maintains very high levels of public trust after what had been a very turbulent period for An Garda Síochána prior to his appointment.
“In creating a national network of Divisional Protective Services Units, he transformed the quality of Garda investigations into domestic and sexual crimes. He has determinedly focused on tracking down and prosecuting those involved in organised crime, including building international partnerships to seek them out, leading to a very substantial measurable drop in gun-related deaths in Ireland, as well as significant increases in seizure of drugs and cash. His leadership of An Garda Síochána throughout the COVID pandemic was exemplary and the country owes him a debt of gratitude for all his work.”
Notes
Justin Kelly bio
From Dublin, Justin has more than 30 years policing experience and was appointed to his current role as Deputy Commissioner Security, Strategy and Governance in October 2024. He has a strong background, both academically and in operational policing, particularly in relation to combatting organised crime groups and safeguarding the security of the State.
In his previous role, as Assistant Commissioner, Serious and Organised Crime, he was responsible for leading the national policing response in areas of drugs and organised crime, cybercrime, economic crime, immigration and crimes against vulnerable persons. He was the strategic lead for the development of capacity and organisational policy in areas connected with serious crime investigation.
From 2020 to 2022 he was Detective Chief Superintendent, leading the Operational Counter-Terrorism Unit, the Special Detective Unit. He was previously Detective Superintendent, Garda National Protective Services Bureau, as well as a Detective Inspector, Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, and a frontline Inspector in the Blanchardstown and Clondalkin areas of Dublin.
In 2001 he was seconded to work for the United Nations in Bosnia Herzegovina, where he worked monitoring and building the capacity of local law enforcement.
Career history
| Oct 2024 to date | Deputy Commissioner, Security, Strategy and Governance |
| May 2022 – Oct 2024 | Assistant Commissioner, Organized and Serious Crime |
| Oct 2020 – May 2022 | Detective Chief Superintendent, Special Detective Unit |
| Aug 2017 – Oct 2020 | Detective Superintendent, Garda National Protective Services Bureau |
| 1992 – 2017 | Garda, Sergeant and Inspector ranks |
Education
- 2020 Strategic Command Course – four-month senior police leadership programme, College of Policing, UK
- 2019 MA Serious Crime Investigation (First Class Hons), University of Limerick
- 2019 Professional Certificate in Governance (First Class Hons), Institute of Public Administration
- 2019 MBA (2:1), Dublin City University
- 2010 MA Criminal Justice (First Class Hons), John Jay College, New York City (recipient of the 2009 McCabe Fellowship)
- 2006 BCL (2:1), UCD
The selection and appointment of the new Garda Commissioner was conducted under section 26 of the new Policing, Security and Community Safety Act, 2024.
The appointment of the new Commissioner follows an open competition carried out by publicjobs at the request of Minister O’Callaghan, having consulted with the Policing and Community Safety Authority and Bord an Gharda Síochána regarding the selection criteria and recruitment process, as provided for in the Act.
The recruitment campaign ran for three weeks, closing on 29 May 2025. Publicjobs also commissioned an international search for suitable candidates.
The selection process consisted of a shortlisting, followed by preliminary interviews and a psychometric assessment process and the final interviews took place on 24 July.
In accordance with the Act, the appointment will be for a period of five years from 2 September 2025. There is provision in the Act for an extension of up to two further years, subject to government approval.
The salary for the Garda Commissioner role is currently €314,512 reflecting the size and unique complexity of leading An Garda Síochána, which is a very large policing service with over 18,000 employees, and includes lead responsibility for the security of the State.