John McGuinness: I was right not to reveal Callinan meeting earlier

John McGuinness, the former chairman of the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee, has rejected criticisms of his decision to only reveal, last week, his secret meeting with ex-garda commissioner Martin Callinan.

Mr McGuinness, speaking to the Irish Examiner, has defended his decision to reveal in the Dáil last Thursday the controversial meeting which took place on January 24, 2014, in a hotel car park outside Dublin.

He was pressed yesterday as to why he did not reveal the meeting to the recently-completed O’Higgins commission but he insisted it was not relevant to that inquiry.

“That meeting was not relevant to the terms of the O’Higgins Commission,” said Mr McGuinness. “Perhaps I could have mentioned it but I did so in the context that the whistleblower Sergeant Maurice McCabe is still being questioned as to his motive.

“My decision to stay quiet at the time allowed for McCabe to come before the PAC at the time and my decision has been vindicated.

“Serious questions remain unanswered including is there a continued culture to cover up, within the garda force, the whistleblowers that are under siege in that force.”

Ex-garda commissioner Martin Callinan

However, the Fianna Fáil TD for Kilkenny said he had “made the call having heard the O’Higgins report, and having listened to the debate that it was time to put on record a piece of proof that the culture within the force continued in the vein that militated against Sergeant Maurice McCabe”.

Former PAC member and Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald said there were “well-founded” reasons for not disclosing it at the time.

She said the priority had been to get Sgt McCabe to give evidence to the committee about abuse of the penalty points by gardaí. However, Ms McDonald called on Mr McGuinness to further reveal what exactly Mr Callinan told him about the whistleblower.

The Sinn Féin TD said Mr McGuinness should have brought to the O’Higgins commission of investigation details of the Callinan meeting.

Whistleblower Sergeant Maurice McCabe

Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, Ms McDonald called for an immediate response from Mr Callinan on the issue.

Attempts to contact the former commissioner last night were unsuccessful.

Ms McDonald called on Mr McGuinness to outline what the former Garda commissioner said to him about Sgt McCabe.

In addition, she called on the current Garda Commissioner, Nóirín O’Sullivan, to outline if she had any knowledge of the meeting.

She said as a member of the PAC at the time, she was not aware of the meeting or the content of what was said to Mr McGuinness.

Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan

She added there was “merit in the concern” expressed by Mr McGuinness that to reveal details of the meeting before Sgt McCabe gave his evidence to the PAC may have derailed the process as there was “no appetite within the system to have Sgt McCabe appear before the committee”.

In a statement last night, Ms O’Sullivan said she “was not aware of any private meeting between former Commissioner Callinan and Deputy McGuinness as outlined by Deputy McGuinness in the Dáil”.