Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

These are very serious allegations of an orchestrated and co-ordinated campaign to malign and undermine the reputation of Maurice McCabe to deter people from listening to his legitimate complaints of wrongdoing in An Garda Síochána. They used the vilest allegations to do so. These claims are being levelled against the former Commissioner and the present Commissioner. The Tánaiste has been at pains to say, "Well, there weren't any findings. They're only allegations. They're not convictions." That is true up to a point. However, Mr. Justice O'Neill looked at the evidence, such as it was, and decided that even within that limited information there was enough to establish a commission of investigation. That is not something that happens lightly or happens every other day of the week.

His reason for doing so was that the allegations in the two protected disclosures are not isolated allegations. They come on top of the allegations made by John Barrett, the civilian head of human resources in the Garda Síochána, and the evidence that emerged in the course of the O'Higgins inquiry where counsel for the Commissioner stated that he was ordered to impugn the reputation of Maurice McCabe and to say that he acted with malice, and not just that but that there were two officers there who would verify that he admitted that was his motivation.

Either Nóirín O'Sullivan was privy to that or not. If she did not know about it, why did she not do something about it once she became aware of that fact? For those reasons alone, the Commissioner's position has been untenable for an incredibly long time. It is particularly the case now, given that she is at the helm of an organisation that will control the evidence Mr. Justice Charleton will require to conduct his investigations. In all cases of natural justice in any employment I have been in, if a person is accused of gross misconduct they stand aside pending the inquiry. That is the way it is. It is the way it has been for Dave Taylor and for every ordinary rank-and-file garda; it is doubly important in the case of the Commissioner. That is why one of the amendments we had proposed, had the terms of reference been before us, was precisely to deal with the issue that the Commissioner should step aside.

Our second amendment was a more restricted version of the amendment Deputy O'Callaghan tabled in which we wanted to see included the extent to which the Tánaiste had been briefed by the Garda about allegations of criminal misconduct against Maurice McCabe supposedly forming the basis of his malicious motivation. We are happy to go along with the Fianna Fáil proposal to expand that to include all Members of the Oireachtas.

The most important thing that must be included under these terms and conditions of inquiry is the broadening out to include the allegations of the other whistleblowers. Our amendment stated that the protected disclosures of all gardaí who made such disclosures about bullying, harassment and such treatment, and who wanted to be included, would be included. At the heart of this necessity is that there is an unbroken thread here, precisely the point made by Deputy Wallace, that the smear campaign and tactics unleashed against Maurice McCabe have been experienced by other Garda whistleblowers. The difference between them and Maurice McCabe is that their allegations emerged and their treatment happened solely under the watch of Nóirín O'Sullivan. I have no doubt that the present Commissioner will attempt to distance herself from the allegations and claim it was the responsibility of the former Commissioner and that she was only the girl who made the tea. We need to look at what happened to whistleblowers under her watch.

I am really upset about the point being made and am particularly upset that Fianna Fáil Members have latched on to it because I do not believe they realise the significance of this. Mr. Justice O'Neill has said that he considered the other allegations and that on the basis of that he did not think that they should be included. Deputy O'Callaghan said he thought they should be included until he heard that. Mr. Justice O'Neill did not get any information from those two whistleblowers or their legal counsel. I believe he could only have got that information from the Tánaiste, or else I do not know where he got it from; but he did not get it from them. It is really important that they be included.

I welcome some of the other terms of reference. I am delighted to see RTE included, because I actually made a complaint about that broadcast. RTE wrote back to me and gave out about the personal nature of my complaints and their hostile tone. It claimed they were without foundation and would be defamatory if I repeated them to a third party.

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