Warning over leaks of draft report

The Fennelly inquiry has told the highest levels of government that any leaks of its interim report on the resignation of the garda commissioner constitute an offence and that recipients have a month to reply to findings. 

Any final report is unlikely to be published before the Dáil rises for the summer.

An accompanying letter from Mr Justice Nial Fennelly to his draft investigation into the resignation of Martin Callinan was circulated yesterday. It points to relevant legislation about the confidentiality of reports and warns any disclosure of its contents or acknowledgment of receiving the report is an offence. Copies of the report were delivered by hand.

Enda Kenny, his secretary general Martin Fraser, Attorney General Maire Whelan, former justice minister Alan Shatter and Mr Callinan are among those who would have received copies. Other individuals will receive extracts, where they are mentioned. While extracts will be person-specific, recipients will be supplied with context where they are mentioned. Everybody mentioned or identified is entitled to extracts.

Recipients have 28 days to reply or take a legal challenge. This means that once replies are factored into any final interim report, it might only be ready for publication until after the Dáil rises for the summer, in mid July.

Mystery surrounds what was said to Mr Callinan by a senior civil servant the night before he gave his resignation letter to Government.

Mr Kenny has said he sent the official to Mr Callinan’s home to tell of the seriousness with which disclosure of the recordings in Garda stations was viewed by Cabinet. The opposition claim Mr Kenny effectively sacked the garda chief in 2014.

The bigger inquiry under Justice Fennelly, on the taping of phonecalls at garda stations, has until the end of the year to submit its final report to Mr Kenny. Asked about the draft report, Mr Kenny said: “I’m precluded by law from making any comment on it. All I’m going to say is that when the report comes to me for publication it will be published in accordance with the law.”