Taoiseach says garda whistleblowers must not be ‘intimidated or punished’

The Taoiseach said ministers cannot interfere in protected disclosures as opposition leaders called for answers over Garda allegations

Taoiseach Micheal Martin at Government Buildings in Dublin following a Cabinet meeting. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

It is "reprehensible" for any whistleblower to be "intimidated or punished" for speaking out, the Taoiseach has told the Dáil.

It comes amid allegations that members of the gardaí who raised concerns were sidelined or forced out.

Pressed on what he and other Government ministers knew of the details uncovered in an RTÉ Investigates documentary, Micheál Martin insisted that it would not be correct for ministers to be made aware of disclosures made by whistleblowers.

"If a person makes a protected disclosure, it has to be investigated. If it has to be investigated, ministers cannot interfere," Mr Martin told the Dáil.

All four whistleblowers who spoke to RTÉ allege a hostile culture in the force and say they were sidelined for speaking out on issues.

Members connected to An Garda Síochána’s Protected Disclosure Unit — Donal Corcoran and Rose Sweeney — allege they were “forced out” of the organisation and punished for protecting whistleblowers. Both have left the force and now live on social welfare.

Detective Superintendent Brian O’Reilly, head of the Garda Technical Bureau, was given responsibility for the Firearms Section at Garda Headquarters in 2019. Det. Supt O’Reilly has made a number of protected disclosures about a defective gun holster that he linked to the death of a garda in a capital murder.

Another whistleblower has been anonymised.

Mr Martin said: "I think it is reprehensible for any whistleblower to be intimidated or punished. I have no time for any of that."

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the whistleblowers had detailed how the process for reporting and investigating wrongdoing within the Gardaí has been repeatedly undermined by senior management, including former Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris.

"A process was established in the aftermath of scandals that rocked An Garda Síochána more than a decade ago, in particular the treatment of sergeant Maurice McCabe. At that time, we were promised a fresh start," she said, adding that "instead of being protected, whistleblowers are targeted, penalised and vilified by those at the very top".

Labour leader Ivana Bacik said she and party colleague Alan Kelly had met the "courageous" whistleblowers last week and stressed that the current systems are not working as intended, meaning that the people who "bravely exposed institutional failures are being penalised and even purged".

"Many of their revelations relate to the question of serious failings within Garda firearms practices. In particular, there are serious issues with defective gun holsters. Horrifyingly, the issues with holsters arose in the capital murder of Detective Garda Colm Horkan in June 2020 and the serious injury to another garda just days before that. Other serious failings relate to the storage and processing of guns and ammunition.

"These alarming matters were ignored by senior Garda management for a long time. Amid these appalling practices, as we know, there were people who blew the whistle, brave individuals who put their careers on the line to expose the truth," she told the Dáil.

The Taoiseach pointed to "comprehensive legislation" governing whistleblowers and said that there are "robust structures, policies and procedures" in place across the criminal justice system to ensure the effective management of protected disclosures and to provide support to people making disclosures.

• Elaine Loughlin, political editor