A former garda superintendent has apologised for sending a 2011 circular which stated that an internal garda inquiry into allegations of criminality and systemic failures in a local district had vindicated the professionalism of gardaí in the district.

Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald was made aware of the strategy to undermine Garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe a year before it entered the public domain in​ ​2016​, RTE News has reported.