Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Sergeant Maurice McCabe has become well known and he is now a household name in Irish society and beyond. He is the person most central in this tribunal. I am sure he wishes it were the case that none of this transpired. Unfortunately, the actions of his superiors meant he was drawn into one of the largest controversies involving An Garda Síochána in its history. He is to be commended on his bravery in the face of such adversity and what appear to be almost insurmountable and deliberately placed obstacles. He has been entirely vindicated by the tribunal findings, which further indicated, quite remarkably, that he was denigrated for being no more than a good citizen and police officer. He was subject to a "campaign of calumny".

These are very strong findings and I thank Mr. Justice Charleton for his sterling work on this tribunal. I wish Mr. Seán Ryan well as he takes his place for the final module. We can all agree that when the allegations made by Sergeant McCabe came into the public domain in 2012, the nation was shocked. A few months later he lifted the lid on the penalty points matter. At this point I also commend Garda John Wilson, who stood by Sergeant McCabe's claims and publicly supported him when the easier route would have been to disappear into the background. They did not commit the sin of silence that makes men cowards. Unfortunately and disgracefully, the response by the institution of An Garda Síochána was not to reflect on these failings, see how they might be resolved and examine the serious breach of what the Garda was supposed to uphold and serve. The people involved circled the wagons before rounding on Sergeant McCabe and treating him as a nuisance to be ignored, marginalised and vilified. Such feelings of disdain were made overt in public by the former Garda Commissioner, Mr. Martin Callinan, when he went before the Committee of Public Accounts and proceeded to tell it that only two officers from a force of 13,000 were making allegations of wrongdoing and that, on a personal level, he found that quite disgusting.

In May 2016, days after the publication of the O'Higgins report, further leaks revealed that Ms Nóirín O'Sullivan's legal team had a strategy of attacking Sergeant McCabe's motivation and integrity during an inquiry. In June 2016, Tusla wrote to Sergeant McCabe and confirmed that no allegation of digital penetration had been made against him.