Criminal charges ‘used to silence’ garda whistleblowers, McDowell tells Seanad

This is the first time there has been an allegation that criminal prosecutions have been taken against a member of the force because they effectively blew a whistle.

Criminal and disciplinary proceedings have been taken against gardaí who have raised concerns about malpractice in the organisation, it has been claimed.

Senator Michael McDowell told the Senate on Thursday a senior garda “of the upmost integrity” had been sidelined because he made a number of protected disclosures.

The former justice minister also said a junior member of the force “is facing criminal charges on indictment which appear to be motivated by a desire to conceal abuses in the armoury section".

The senior garda referenced by Senator McDowell is Detective Superintendent Brian O’Reilly, who oversaw the Garda Technical Bureau until 2023.

Last month, at Dublin Circuit Court, counsel for Det Supt O’Reilly claimed he had been financially penalised because he made protected disclosures about concerns he had with Garda practices and how the force had responded to concerns over a controversial gun holster.

Issues around the holster surfaced in 2020 when a garda was injured outside the Israeli ambassador’s residence in Dublin when his firearm was discharged.

Six days later, Detective Garda Colm Horkan was shot dead by Stephen Silver in Castlerea after Silver managed to get hold of the garda’s weapon. Det Supt O’Reilly is understood to have made protected disclosures related to how these incidents were investigated and dealt with by management.

The circuit court heard Dep Supt O’Reilly, who had been acting for a number of years as a chief superintendent, had gone on work-related sickness in April 2023 as a result of the concerns he raised.

Later, his income was cut to half pay and he was applying to the court have his full salary restored, an application that is being opposed by An Garda Síochána. A decision on the case is expected in the autumn.

The junior garda referenced is accused of possessing nearly 4,000 rounds of ammunition and stealing military weapons parts from the Defence Forces.

KRW Law issued a statement welcoming Mr McDowell’s intervention and endorsing his calls “for increased scrutiny on serious issues around gardaí irregularities”.

“We act on behalf of a former serving Garda officer who acted as a whistleblower on serious irregularities within the armoury section of gardaí on defective holsters and other linked matters.

"As a result, he found himself the subject of a contrived prosecution taken in a bid to silence him. Our client will fully contest the charges levied against him and looks forward to a jury trial when he can give his account of serious internal wrongdoing,” the statement said.

Senator Michael McDowell: 'Anyone who thinks that the culture in An Garda Síochána has been transformed by the outcome of the Disclosures Tribunal concerning Sergeant Maurice McCabe, is, I fear, gravely mistaken.'

Senator McDowell and Labour party TD Alan Kelly have been raising in the Senate and Dáil, respectively, related issues around malpractice centred on the garda armoury.

However, this is the first time there has been an allegation that criminal prosecutions have been taken against a member of the force because they effectively blew a whistle.

Mr McDowell also told the Senate about what he called the “falsification of documents submitted by An Garda Síochána to the Department of Justice designed to facilitate the importation of firearms for civilians who are not gardaí.” 

This was reference to a case published in the Irish Examiner earlier this month about a senior garda who organised for the repair and importation of firearm parts for a gun club under the guise the weapons were for Garda use.

An application was made to the department to import the parts on that basis, yet when completed and repaired, the firearms were returned to the gun club, with the cost accruing to the Garda budget.

In his address on Thursday, the senator claimed “senior management in An Garda Síochána is aware of all these matters”.

“Anyone who thinks that the culture in An Garda Síochána has been transformed by the outcome of the Disclosures Tribunal concerning Sergeant Maurice McCabe, is, I fear, gravely mistaken. I am shocked by what I have learned,” he told the house.

He called for a debate in the house on the whole matter with the attendance of the minister for justice.

A spokesperson for An Garda Síochána said they would not be commenting and are precluded from commenting on statements by third parties.