‘Inappropriate’ for on-duty gardaí to back campaigns

Garda Commissioner Noirín O’Sullivan has told gardaí it is “inappropriate” for officers to support either side of the same-sex marriage referendum while on duty, after claims a weekend controversy over the issue is “not an isolated incident”.

Ms O’Sullivan made the comments after a number of officers posed in photographs in separate incidents in recent days, sparking concerns of State bias.

During a voter registration launch at Pearse Street garda station in Dublin on Sunday, Garda Kerrie Sullivan posed with high-profile Yes campaigner and retired Supreme Court judge Catherine McGuinness in apparent support of a Yes vote.