Calls for O’Sullivan to resign over whistleblower treatment

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has told the Dáil a sitting judge is likely to be appointed to assess information received by Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald from Garda officers under whistleblower legislation.

Independents4Change TD Clare Daly said she and party colleague Mick Wallace had raised the case of two Garda whistleblowers 19 times in the past two years.

She said two years ago this week she had told the Taoiseach about Garda Nick Keogh who came forward with serious information about Garda participation in the drugs trade.

He was subsequently vindicated by an internal inquiry but had been out sick for almost a year and was surviving on €200 a week, she said. Medical certificates stating he was out with work-related stresses were changed to indicate absence because of flu.

She said “he has had five internal investigations drummed up against him” and “the Superintendent who stood over all that is on the promotions list” and had twice since been promoted despite three complaints from whistleblowers against him.

Ms Daly was speaking in the Dáil on Wednesday about allegations by senior gardaí of a deliberate campaign by Garda management to undermine the professional and personal reputations of Garda whistleblowers. Senior gardaí have given details of the alleged campaign to the Minister for Justice under the Protected Disclosures Act.

Ms Daly also referred to Garda Keith Harrison, who had been out of work for the past two years and was surviving on a “pittance” with a young family.

Ms Daly claimed his post had been opened, Garda patrol cars cruised down a lane on which he lived 25 km from the nearest Garda station and “the HSE has called to his children. This has all happened on Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan’s watch.”

She repeated her view that Ms O’Sullivan’s position was untenable and said it was “beyond time for her to go”.

Mr Kenny told Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald he had "absolute confidence" in the Garda Commissioner and the Minister for Justice, adding that "I have no reason not to".

He said a sitting judge was likely to be appointed to assess the information received under the Protected Disclosures Act.

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The Taoiseach had confirmed on Tuesday that senior gardaí had made “protected disclosures” to Ms Fitzgerald, alleging a campaign by Garda management to undermine the professional and personal reputation of Garda whistleblowers.Mr Kenny said it was absolutely unacceptable for whistleblowers not to be dealt with “to the highest standards”.

Ms Daly asked “how many examples do you have to have presented to you”, when she said cases had been raised almost 20 times in the Dáil.

Ms Daly referred to claims that senior management in the force orchestrated a campaign to undermine whistleblowers, through damaging texts, harassment and disparagement of whistleblowers’ personal and professional reputations.

She said two senior gardaí outlined a systematic and orchestrated attempt “not just to undermine, but to annihilate” whistleblowers, “with the sanction of the current and former Garda commissioners”.

She dismissed a statement on Wednesday by Ms O’Sullivan that she encouraged whistleblowers to come forward.

“If the Commissioner herself is not directly involved in the harassment, do you not have a problem that her authority is so discredited that instruction she has allegedly given for whistleblowers to be protected are being wholesale ignored across the ranks of An Garda Síochána?”

Ms McDonald spoke of whistleblowers being hounded and harassed.

She told the Taoiseach: “Your Government has clearly failed to protect whistleblowers”.

Ms McDonald asked Mr Kenny if Ms Fitzgerald and Ms O’Sullivan were running for cover.

Mr Kenny said the information received under the Protected Disclosures Act had to be examined. He expected a member of the judiciary was likely to be appointed to do so. The matter would be dealt with by the appropriate person and the Government was taking the allegations very seriously.

Ms McDonald said the difficulty was that they had had heard this too often before. She said she understood Ms Fitzgerald had been in possession of some correspondence for months and asked who was in charge - “the Minister or the Commissioner?”

Mr Kenny said the information would have to be assessed and considered, but added that “we will not shirk our responsibility in dealing with the matter”.