GSOC to proceed with Bailey probe

The Garda Ombudsman has said it will proceed with its investigation into Garda treatment of Ian Bailey, even though a new judicial inquiry has been tasked with a similar job.

The watchdog made the statement after the Commission of Investigation into the Garda tapes crisis, launched this week by the Government, was surprisingly ordered to examine the broader Garda investigation of Mr Bailey in relation to the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier in December 1996.

The commission, under Supreme Court judge Nial Fennelly, has been requested to examine recordings of phone calls at Bandon Garda Station relating to the Bailey case. But his probe is also directed to establish if “any other acts or events” in the course of the Garda investigation “disclose any evidence of unlawful or improper conduct” by gardaí.

The inclusion of the “any other acts or events” was taken by surprise in some legal quarters, not least within the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission.

As the Irish Examiner reported this week, the watchdog is currently at a sensitive stage in its two-year investigation into the treatment of Mr Bailey at the hands of gardaí conducting the du Plantier investigation.

GSOC set up their inquiry in February 2012 following a complaint from Mr Bailey.

Investigators spent the next year requesting all relevant documentation from Garda authorities, followed by interviews with people associated with the Bailey complaint during 2013.

This year, their investigation has entered a key stage, involving the location of gardaí, mainly retired, to whom they wish to speak. Some are thought to be abroad.

Asked about the commission’s terms of reference, a spokesman for GSOC said: “Terms of reference are a matter for government. We are proceeding with our investigation into the case.”

It is understood that the Fennelly investigation has not yet started, mainly due to the fact that the judge is not due to retire from the Supreme Court until May 2. He will then have to gather his own staff.