Charleton ‘smear’ inquiry to start with Tusla hearing

The Disclosure Tribunal begins its hearings tomorrow with the untangling of how false sexual allegations against Sergeant Maurice McCabe were recorded, transmitted, investigated and managed within the child protection services.

In its first tranche of investigations, the tribunal will also try and establish whether or not senior gardaí used these files as part of an alleged campaign to discredit the whistleblower.

The tribunal – chaired by Mr Justice Peter Charleton – has broken up its terms of reference into five sections, the first dealing with issues concerning Tusla, the Child and Family Agency.