Garda college whistleblower met with 'deafening silence' by senior officials

The whistleblower who revealed the Garda college financial scandal has alleged he was met with a “deafening silence” by senior officials after raising the scale of the escalating controversy.

John Barrett made the claim in a 122-page document in which he alleged a “cover-up” of what happened, claimed auditors were “purposely kept in the dark”, and further undermined Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan’s claims that she was unaware of the scale of the crisis at least two years ago.

In a tense Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting last Thursday, Ms O’Sullivan said she acted swiftly to set up a team to examine the concerns at the garda college when they emerged during a five-minute meeting with Mr Barrett in July 2015.