Gardaí to make decision on O’Dea claims probe in coming days

GARDA Commissioner Fachtna Murphy said a decision will be taken over the coming days on whether to investigate a claim by former Defence Minister Willie O’Dea that he based his false brothel claims on information he got from a garda.

Mr Murphy said a decision will also be made on a perjury complaint against Mr O’Dea made to gardaí in Dublin by a member of the Green party.

Mr Murphy said he was very loathe to involve the Garda Síochána in any issue that relates to the political debate of recent days.

Speaking in Templemore Garda College where 94 new members joined the Garda Reserve bringing their numbers to 565, Mr Murphy said: “I am conscious that the complaint was made yesterday at the Bridewell and I am also conscious of remarks made in relation to Limerick.”

He said the Garda will “do its duty and in the next few days will be examining in the cold light of day in a calm way, because the debate has been considerably heated in recent days, we will examine that and see if there is any action required from An Garda Síochána on all issues arising in the more recent heated debate”.

He said: “If there is prime facia evidence of criminality, and we have got to see if there is or isn’t there, we have got to see what are the issues.

“We will examine that and we will do our duty if it requires moving it forward.

“As of now I haven’t given any direction to start an investigation.

“I think this is one for cool consideration of the facts and like I said to see whether there is prime facia evidence of criminality, because An Garda Síochána just don’t start an investigation listening to the radio or picking up the newspapers, we deal on facts.

“It is normal practice when a complaint is made to see is there grounds for an investigation.”

The Minister for Justice, Dermot Ahern said he had heard what Mr O’Dea had said about gossip from within the gardaí in Limerick.

“It’s is not for me to say whether it is a garda matter, and I don’t have the power to direct the gardaí in that respect,” the Minister said.

Earlier, Government Chief Whip, Pat Carey, said the claim by Mr O’Dea that he got the information from a member of the garda “clearly involves the need for an investigation”.

The Garda Ombudsman Commission said that it has not received any complaint about the issue but has not ruled out an investigation on public interest grounds.