Hogan says Shatter ‘doing his best’ over GSOC controversy

Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan has said his Cabinet colleague Alan Shatter is "doing his best" to keep the public informed on the ongoing controversy between GSOC and the Garda Síochána over surveillance at GSOC's headquarters.

Asked about the issue today at a conference in Kilkenny, Mr Hogan declined to comment on whether or not the situation had been handled well by GSOC, An Garda Síochána and the Government.

"The Minister for Justice will be giving his detailed version of events and be subject to questioning by Oireachtas members at the public oversight committee on Wednesday and I think I'll leave it to him to explain all that," he said.

Asked if he expected the controversy to end after Mr Shatter’s appearance before the Oireachtas committee, he said: “That’s up to the committee. I think the committee are doing a good job and I think they’re trying to identify what the issues were between GSOC and the gardaí and the Minister is doing his best in order to put out as much information as he can, in spite of the fact that all of these matters are supposed to be secret.”

Last night Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the Government planned to “review” how the controversy over the alleged bugging controversy at the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission erupted and whether its structures are fit for purpose.

Mr Kenny and the GSOC also said they wanted to see a conclusion to the controversy, with public faith in both the policing watchdog and the Garda Síochána itself restored.

Mr Kenny said the Government will be reviewing how the row over possible surveillance of GSOC’s offices occurred and if the current structure “lives up to what it’s supposed to do”.

Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan also released a statement, as all sides sought to defuse the controversy.

“I do think that, as the Garda Commissioner pointed out in his statement, it really is very important that the people of the country have trust in the integrity of both of these organisations,” Mr Kenny said.

It was reported yesterday the GSOC organised a counter-intelligence sweep of its Dublin offices because a senior garda revealed he was in possession of secret information.

It was separately reported the garda was Mr Callinan, who made comments to GSOC chairman Simon O’Brien, but the commissioner’s comments were misinterpreted.

Mr Callinan said he is “entirely satisfied” An Garda Síochána was not involved in any surveillance of the GSOC, and expressed his confidence in it.

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said the Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions, which will hear from Minister for Justice Alan Shatter on Wednesday, should be allowed carry out its investigations before any decision to hold an independent inquiry, as demanded by the Opposition.

“I think we should see through the process that is in place now,” Mr Gilmore told RTÉ’s The Week in Politics . “There is a degree of confusion about all of this.”

Speaking at a Fine Gael selection convention in Clonmel, Mr Kenny said Mr Shatter is "very willing" to go before the Oireachtas committee on Wednesday: "I hope . . . that issues that are outstanding . . . can be cleared up."