Ministers support Shatter in blame game
The Government has been accused of scapegoating Martin Callinan, the former Garda commissioner, ahead of discussions today about a full-scale inquiry into the secret recording of telephone calls in and out of Garda stations.
Leo Varadkar, the transport minister, led the charge and said the biggest concern was why it had taken five months for the Garda chief to inform Mr Shatter about the 30 years of recordings made at stations.
The Cabinet will discuss the terms for a commission of inquiry into the Garda recordings at its weekly meeting today and may also decide on which retired judge will lead the probe. The terms are expected to include who knew what and why it took so long for the existence of the tapes to emerge.
The setting up of the inquiry will be informed by two separate reports on the recordings being undertaken by the Department of Justice as well as by the gardaí.
Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore yesterday said he was “surprised” it had taken two weeks for a letter from Mr Callinan about the recordings to be brought to the attention of Mr Shatter.
The Department of Justice received the commissioner’s letter about the 2,485 tapes on March 10, but it was not read by Mr Shatter until March 25.
Mr Varadkar asked why Mr Callinan had known about the unlawful recordings since last November but had not told Mr Shatter. He also said he had concerns as to why gardaí had tried to handle the situation “in house” and about reports that inquiries were made looking into destroying the tapes.
A war of words engulfed both sides last night with Garda sources rejecting these claims.
They claimed Mr Shatter’s department had been “continually” briefed about the taped phone calls since last November. The claim that inquiries were made by gardaí to destroy the tapes was also rejected in reports.
Amid the escalating row, Fianna Fáil accused the Government of scapegoating Mr Callinan.
Niall Collins, the party’s justice spokesman, called for the publication of the commissioner’s letter on the Garda tapes ahead of a two-day Dáil debate of no confidence on Mr Shatter, which begins this evening.
Opposition party TDs are also expected to raise questions about any role the Taoiseach may have played in the commissioner’s resignation and what Taoiseach Enda Kenny did when he was told about the tapes last week by the Attorney General, the Government’s legal adviser.
Senior Labour sources last night said Mr Shatter’s position was safe, as long as his story did not change.
One Labour minister added: “We have to take the guy at his word. But if anything else comes out, it could be serious [for him].”
Elsewhere, the Oireachtas Justice Committee is to consider requests to ask Máire Whelan, the attorney general, Department of Justice secretary general Brian Purcell, and Mr Shatter to appear before it and answer questions about the secret Garda recordings.
Committee chairman and Cork East TD David Stanton said the issue would be discussed by members tomorrow.
