Two civilian Garda members contradict Nóirín O’Sullivan

Two civilian members of the gardaí have directly contradicted formal evidence by Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan, insisting she knew about the Garda college financial scandal a month earlier than previously claimed.

The head of the gardaí’s legal affairs and HR units revealed the situation during a deeply divisive meeting during which they turned on their finance unit counterpart by accusing him of blocking investigations into the case, said they do not have confidence in senior management, and hinted at a new secret Garda bank account linked to EU funding and education grants.

Speaking during a six-hour Dáil Public Accounts Committee meeting, Labour TD and PAC deputy chair Alan Kelly asked senior Garda civilian officers when Ms O’Sullivan was first informed of the scandal.