GSOC and garda ‘tension’ led to bug sweep

The "atmosphere of frustration and tension" between the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission and the senior ranks of the force "heavily influenced" GSOC’s reaction in carrying out a security sweep of its office, an independent report has concluded.

A report into the bugging allegations, by the retired judge John Cooke, said it is “impossible” to “categorically rule out all possibility of covert surveillance” at the ombudsman’s offices.

However, it concluded that “the evidence does not support the proposition that actual surveillance” took place and “much less that it was carried out by members of the Garda Síochána”.