Gardaí set to blow the whistle on malpractice

A SENIOR garda officer yesterday indicated that the force is willing to set up a whistleblowers’ charter that will allow officers to report malpractice.

Deputy Commissioner Peter Fitzgerald told the Morris Tribunal that such a charter would help overcome the conspiracies of silence that were alluded to in the tribunal’s first interim report.

Mr Fitzgerald, who led an international inquiry into the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister, Tafik Hariri, said such a charter would facilitate gardaí who wished to report malpractice.

The Deputy Commissioner is heading a steering group charged with implementing the recommendations made by Mr Justice Frederick Morris in his first tribunal report on allegations of corruption and malpractice within the gardaí.

The group has not yet finalised its report for the Garda Commissioner, Noel Conroy.

Yesterday, the spokesperson for Justice Minister Michael McDowell said he would make no comment until he had received the final recommendations from the Garda Commissioner.

The spokesperson pointed out, however, that nothing said by the Deputy Commissioner yesterday conflicted with Mr McDowell’s views which he expressed at the time the Morris Report was published.

Mr Fitzgerald strongly stood over the integrity of the force and refuted claims that gardaí had a history of covering up corruption.

“I do not at all accept the suggestion that is made that we don’t hang our own,” he told the tribunal. “I think the facts speak for themselves if you examine the records of the organisation.”

The Deputy Commissioner, who has 41 years service, claimed 99.9% of gardaí were honourable people who would jealousy protect the reputation of the force.

He said the internal working group within the gardaí had recommended the need for a forum to report and probe corruption. The working group was set up last summer after the Morris tribunal report detailed widespread corruption among gardaí in Donegal.

The first review had pointedly noted a culture of silence which existed within the force.

The report referred to a situation whereby gardaí were unable to raise concerns about the conduct of their colleagues.

The group recommended that 22 full-time staff be deployed in the Garda Inspectorate and Audit Section.

Meanwhile, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern yesterday ruled out the possibility of the Government subsidising legal costs for the McBrearty family.

On Tuesday, Frank McBrearty Snr walked out of tribunal pledging never to return.

In the Dáil, opposition TDs called on the Government to provide legal representation to Mr McBrearty, who sat in the public gallery with his wife and daughter.

The Attorney General, Rory Brady, has advised the Cabinet that the issue of costs for witnesses cannot be dealt with until the tribunal has reported.

“If you give a guarantee of costs before a module, then you can’t have a situation where the tribunal chairman can make a judgement on who co-operated,” Mr Ahern said.

Fine Gael MEP Jim Higgins has pledged to take the case to Europe.