LAST UPDATE | 4 Dec 2025

RANK-AND-FILE gardaí are hitting out at the secret deal to house former Commissioner Drew Harris in a house close to the force’s HQ in the Phoenix Park. 

It emerged last week that Harris lived in an OPW property in the park for the duration of his tenure. Rent was set at €1,750 a month and this did not increase throughout the Harris’s seven years in the job. 

The former commissioner’s rent was covered by the state. The property had undergone €400,000 worth of renovations before Harris moved in.

Mark Ferris – a serving officer and member of the executive committee of the Garda Representative Association (GRA) – says the deal would have insulated Harris from the cost-of-living crisis faced by his officers. 

Ferris, who is stationed near the park, said that new recruits had been “sleeping in cars and resigning” because they couldn’t afford accommodation in Dublin.

“The OPW spent €400,000 upgrading his private residence, yet members in dilapidated stations struggled for basic equipment, vehicles, and IT support.

Harris, he insisted, had been insulated from cost-of-living pressures while taking a hard line on industrial relations and, in Ferris’s view, “a demoralised force fighting for basic pay and roster fairness”.

There were multiple threats of strike action by Garda members during Harris’s time in charge – most notably over significant roster dispute. 

At one point, GRA members returned a 98% verdict of ‘no confidence’ in the commissioner when the matter was put to a vote.

Ferris is not the only GRA member to express anger at Harris’s terms and conditions of employment. 

Ronan Slevin, the General Secretary of the group, said that earlier this year they asked for help from HQ to find accomodation in large cities but that the request was met with a “wall of silence”.

“Many ordinary gardaí will be angered by the manner in which government can display such extravagance when on the other hand they continue to fail to meet their obligations and agreements on overdue allowances that every other member of the force are being denied,” Slevin argued. 

GRA representative Mark Ferris. GRA GRA

Security fears

It is understood that the house where Harris lived was refurbished by the OPW but that it also underwent a substantial installation of high tech security systems before Harris’s arrival. 

Harris had been housed in the property, which is within a short walk of his office in Garda Headquarters, on safety grounds. 

He was also provided a close protection team from the elite firearms unit the Emergency Response Unit, who travelled with him across the country, including while off-duty.  

It emerged also today in the Dáil that more than €200,000 was spent on security measures for the property.

A spokesman for An Garda Síochána referred our queries about Harris’s accommodation to the Department of Justice. 

In a statement, the Department said the then-Policing Authority advised the Minister for Justice in 2017 that there may be a need in the future to provide accomodation for any external candidate for the Garda top job. 

“This advice included a recommendation that in the case of a successful external candidate, it may be appropriate to provide for accommodation or an accommodation allowance given the requirement for the Garda Commissioner to reside in Dublin, and in light of the fact that the Commissioner is on call 24/7 throughout the year,” the statement said. 

The recommendation was accepted, the spokesman said, and the Department requested the OPW to identify suitable accomodation for the commissioner. 

“The OPW set the rent for this property, which was paid by An Garda Síochána. While personal tax details are confidential, it is understood that the former Commissioner paid benefit in kind in respect of this arrangement.”

In an additional statement this evening the Department of Justice spoke about the security spend on the house. 

It said that the rent on the property of €1,800 was paid by An Garda Síochána. 

“The position of Garda Commissioner requires enhanced security for the officeholder due to the nature of the role as head of the State’s police and security service. Expenditure of €212,000 was incurred under the Garda Vote in relation to the property occupied by former Commissioner Harris.

“This was the cost of security works which were carried out following a security risk assessment of the property by An Garda Síochána. An annual monitoring fee of €2,500 was also paid from the Garda Vote in respect of these security arrangements,” it added.