Garda who admitted 12 months ago to assaulting his wife still a member of the force

Former garda Margaret Loftus said: 'If it’s because it’s still in a process, the process has to be looked at, scrutinised, changed, and updated.'

Trevor Bolger was given a three-month fully suspended jail sentence in January for assaulting his then-wife in October 2012. Photo Collins Courts

Former garda Margaret Loftus says internal processes within An Garda Síochána need to be scrutinised, with a decision on her former husband’s future in the organisation still not made, a year after he pleaded guilty to assaulting her.

Garda Trevor Bolger was given a three-month fully suspended jail sentence in January for assaulting his then-wife in October 2012. The 48-year-old pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in April last year to assaulting Ms Loftus. 

Charges of threats to kill and coercion were dropped following a plea agreement. The assault took place in Ms Loftus's childhood home in Mayo, after she and Bolger had travelled there for her brother’s 30th birthday celebrations.

An internal process to decide if he can remain in An Garda Síochána is continuing. He is currently on suspension without pay.

The organisation says there is “no statutory provision to require the immediate summary dismissal of a member of An Garda Síochána on any conviction before the courts”.

Ms Loftus said: “I think it is an absolute crime in its own right to have someone who has been convicted over 12 months ago still be a member of the organisation that is tasked with the protection of life. It is absolutely shocking. 

"It is very hard to fathom, and it is very hard for me to understand how that can be. If it’s because it’s still in a process, the process has to be looked at, scrutinised, changed, and updated. There is something seriously wrong here somewhere.” 

Ms Loftus called it a "very sad reflection on the organisation...for an organisation that is currently priding itself on having a zero tolerance to gender-related violence".

She added that the organisation’s Go Purple Day in support of domestic violence victims is next Friday.

Margaret Loftus: 'I think it is an absolute crime in its own right to have someone who has been convicted over 12 months ago still be a member of the organisation that is tasked with the protection of life.' Photo: Sam Boal/Collins Photo

“It is very hard for me to stomach that, sitting here knowing that the person who was investigated and charged and convicted is still a member of that organisation.” 

When the  Irish Examiner contacted An Garda Síochána regarding the current status of the process, a spokeswoman said: “An Garda Síochána does not comment on internal processes.” 

In relation to the case of Trevor Bolger, she said: “In this case, the abuser, a serving garda, was investigated by An Garda Síochána, they were arrested by An Garda Síochána, and charged following independent review by the Director of Public Prosecutions, and brought before the courts. 

"The member of An Garda Síochána convicted in this case has been suspended since December 2019, and since conviction, is suspended without pay.” 

She also said that An Garda Síochána’s Domestic Abuse Intervention policy, which was circulated in January 2025, “obligates a member of An Garda Síochána to self-report if they are the respondent of a domestic abuse order”.

She said that failure to do so may result in internal conduct proceedings.