Burglary may be ‘politically motivated’

GARDAÍ are investigating the possibility that a burglary at the constituency office of the Progressive Democrat TD Noel Grealish in Galway in the early hours of yesterday morning might have been politically motivated.

The break-in was discovered shortly after 7am by staff arriving at the office located in Briarhill Business Park on the city outskirts.

It later emerged CCTV footage captured some evidence of the burglary on camera at around 3am.

Detectives are now hoping an examination of the tapes will provide clues as to the intruders identity.

Mr Grealish, who represents the Galway West constituency, said it was “not clear” if the crime was politically motivated.

However, he expressed surprise that the thieves had only targeted certain items in the building.

Although the office was ransacked, only laptop computers and files were stolen.

Mr Grealish said it was “very unusual” that the burglars had left behind other valuable items, including digital cameras, mobile phones and a chequebook.

The Progressive Democrat TD, who was elected for the first time in 2002, expressed concern that the items stolen contained sensitive material.

It is understood some of the documents related to political files being used by Mr Grealish’s as part of his re-election campaign.

The PD deputy was also the campaign manager for Justice Minister Michael McDowell when the Dublin TD successfully sought leadership of the party following Mary Harney’s resignation last month.

Fears that there was a political motive behind the break-in have gained strength as it was the second burglary of an office belonging to a politician in the Briarhill complex in recent weeks.