Fitzgerald backs GSOC despite report criticism

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald said that she has confidence in the Garda Ombudsman after a report criticised it for initiating its own inquiry into suspicions its offices may have been bugged.

She said Judge John Cooke had produced an “evidence-based” report after there had been a lot of concern about whether the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission was bugged or not.

The 62-page report showed the commissioners had taken actions “in good faith” in investigating this but it showed there was no proof that surveillance of the agency had occurred.