Gardaí angered by Dunphy's corruption claim

The country’s biggest Garda union today hit out at broadcaster Eamon Dunphy over controversial comments he made on his radio show that gardaí were corrupt.

The Garda Representative Association (GRA) said a full transcript of the “serious allegations” on The Eamon Dunphy Show on Dublin radio station, NewsTalk 106 have been sent to Garda management.

GRA general secretary PJ Stone said: “The GRA will await the outcome of any subsequent actions on the part of Garda management on the matter before dealing with this any further.

“These are serious allegations and they should be dealt with by the appropriate authorities in the appropriate forum.”

Mr Dunphy made the comments during an interview with Sinn Féin chairman Mitchell McLaughlin about the prospect of the IRA killers of Det Garda Jerry McCabe being released as part of a power-sharing deal in Northern Ireland.

Mr Dunphy said to Mr McLaughlin: “The police down here are unarmed, not like up in the North and they need our support.”

Then he added: “Sure, they’re bent, half of them, but they still need our support.”

Mr Stone today urged Mr Dunphy to contact the Assistant Commissioner in charge of Human Resource Management with any information he has in relation to alleged corruption within the force.

The GRA, which represents 8,800 rank and file gardaí, has also refused any future invitation to appear on Mr Dunphy’s show.

Mr Stone said he didn’t wish to “partake in any kangaroo-style journalism that would not be in the interests of GRA members or the public they serve”.

A spokesperson for The Eamon Dunphy Show or NewsTalk could not be contacted for comment.