Senior garda accused of snorting cocaine has 3.5-year suspension lifted

Lifting of suspension comes 10 days after appeal board ruled there was no evidence to support the allegation Inspector Arthur Ryan had ingested the drug in a Limerick bar in January 2019

It was open to commissioner Drew Harris to still dismiss the garda, as has been done in other cases, but he ultimately decided to accept the appeal board recommendation.

A garda inspector who had been accused of snorting cocaine has had his three-and-a-half year suspension lifted with immediate effect, the Irish Examiner has learned. 

The lifting of the suspension came 10 days after an appeal board ruled there was no evidence to support the allegation that Inspector Arthur Ryan had ingested the drug. 

It was open to commissioner Drew Harris to still dismiss the garda, as has been done in other cases, but he ultimately decided to accept the appeal board recommendation.

The inspector was arrested in May 2019, along with a senior colleague, and accused of taking a drug in the Hurler’s Bar in Limerick City a few months previously. 

He denied the allegation and the only evidence that was produced was grainy CCTV footage that purported to show him putting his hand to his face while sitting in the public bar with his colleague around 6.30pm on January 9, 2019. 

The arrest was made by the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation which was in Limerick on a separate corruption investigation.

Inspector Ryan was suspended following his arrest and later that year the DPP ruled he did not have any case to answer. There followed a long, drawn-out disciplinary process in which Inspector Ryan produced expert testimony in relation to the CCTV footage. 

The Garda evidence consisted of an officer with experience working in drugs giving his opinion that the footage showed Inspector Ryan ingesting the substance.

The original disciplinary hearing found he had taken drugs and recommended dismissal but this was overturned by the appeal board. 

Yesterday, it is understood the inspector was informed by Garda HQ that his suspension was now lifted and he should report for work. It is unclear yet whether he intends to return to his position following the events that impacted on his life since his arrest in May 2019.