Kenny ‘trying to bury report into Callinan’s exit’
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said Mr Kenny was avoiding the issue “until after the general election”, despite the Taoiseach’s insistance that the delays are nothing to do with him.
Mr Martin made the accusation last night after a letter from supreme court judge Nial Fennelly to Mr Kenny said the investigation will be delayed until Ian Bailey’ lawsuit against the State and Mr Callinan for wrongful arrest over the Sophie Tuscan du Plantier murder concludes.
The Fennelly probe was established to explain the sudden departure of the garda commissioner a year ago this month, in addition to the wider issue of gardaí taping phone calls.
The Callinan section specifically examines why the commissioner left the force after describing penalty points whistleblowers as “disgusting”, and what, if any, role the Government had in the matter.
While Justice Fennelly said in January that he hoped to complete the report by March, a view repeated by Mr Kenny on January 16 when he said it would conclude in the “not too distant future”, in a letter sent to the Taoiseach, the judge said he is now “not in a position to say how much longer it will take”.
A spokesperson for Mr Kenny insisted the decision is “entirely a matter for him [Judge Fennelly]”. However, Mr Martin claimed the delay shows the report is being buried.
“The suggestion that the truth will now potentially not be known until after the general election is simply outrageous and unacceptable,” said Mr Martin.
“The idea that the report will be mothballed indefinitely on the grounds there are elements that relate to the ongoing case being taken by Ian Bailey must be challenged.”
Speaking to reporters after the campaign for civil marriage equality launch at the Rotunda Hospital yesterday, Tánaiste and Labour leader Joan Burton said the decision is entirely a matter for Justice Fennelly.
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