Former senior garda will not face charges over alleged leaking to criminal suspects

A former senior garda officer has been informed he will not face any charges following an investigation into the alleged leaking of confidential information to criminal suspects.

The now retired former officer is currently before the courts facing other, unrelated, criminal charges.

He was arrested two years ago, along with other serving Garda members, as part of an investigation into allegations that people being looked at by a specialist Garda unit were supplied with information about the inquiry.

However, the former senior officer was informed by the Garda’s National Bureau of Criminal Investigation on Thursday that he would not be facing charges and had no case to answer.

He vehemently denied the allegations from the outset and continues to strongly deny any wrongdoing.

The former officer, who has retired in the period since his arrest, was one of three serving gardaí detained around the same time as part of the investigation into the alleged leaking to criminal suspects.

Two of the three have been told they have no case to answer while the third man, who remains a member of the force, is before the courts in connection with the leaking inquiry. Another man, who has never been a member of the force, is also before the courts arising from the same investigation.

While that criminal investigation into the alleged leaking of information to criminal suspects was underway it effectively gave rise to a second inquiry.

This has examined allegations that Garda members perverted the course of justice through the alleged abuse of the penalty points system. A number of former and serving members are currently before the courts charged with allegations relating to penalty points system abuses, including the officer now cleared in the leaking inquiry.

However, while the investigation into the penalty points allegations began during, and as a result of, the initial investigation into the alleged leaking of confidential information to criminal suspects, the two investigations are completely separate.