Clare Daly arrest details leaked in ‘unauthorised manner’

Independent TD Clare Daly has demanded an apology from the Garda Commissioner over the leaking of her arrest on suspicion of drink-driving.

A Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc) investigation has found information on the arrest was leaked by gardaí to the media in an “unauthorised manner” .

The investigation concluded that “on the balance of probabilities”, some information relating to the arrest came from within An Garda Síochána and was made available to members of the media in an “unauthorised manner”. However, Gsoc said it has not been able to find enough evidence of a criminal offence to warrant sending a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Ms Daly was arrested in January 2013 in Dublin after making an illegal turn while driving on the South Circular Road. She was breathalysed and taken to Kilmainham Garda station but was found to be under the limit.

Last night, she called for an apology. “As an absolute minimum this was done in a way to damage me, to distract from the work we were doing at the time on the penalty points controversy, to intimidate me,” she said. “And it did infringe my right to privacy – that’s pretty serious stuff.”

In a statement yesterday, Gsoc said it conducted a “lengthy investigation” to establish the facts of the matter.

The commission considered there was insufficient evidence of a criminal offence by any individual to warrant sending a file to the office of the DPP.

The report said the commission is of the view Ms Daly was entitled to the presumption of innocence and that she had a right to privacy. “These rights appear to have been infringed by the release of such information,” said the report.