TD accuses Helen McEntee of depriving whistleblower of legal protections

Labour TD Alan Kelly accuses former justice minister of 'usurping' the statutory direction of the Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner

Then justice minister Helen McEntee speaks to the media at the AGSI conference in Naas, Co Kildare in September, 2023, the same month that Detective Superintendent Brian O’Reilly sent his protected disclosure to the minister. File picture: PA

Minister Helen McEntee has been accused of exposing a garda whistleblower and "depriving him of the legal protections he was entitled to" during her time in the Department of Justice.

Labour TD Alan Kelly accused Ms McEntee of either "incompetence or a mistake" in her handling of a protected disclosure and claimed in the Dáil that she "acted without legal authority", an accusation that was strongly denied by the minister.

Four former and current members of the force were featured in an RTÉ Investigates documentary, which aired on Wednesday night, with two directly connected to the Garda whistleblowing unit and two others who made protected disclosures.

The members connected to the Gardaí’s Protected Disclosure Unit — Donal Corcoran and Rose Sweeney — allege they were “forced out” of the organisation and punished for protecting whistleblowers.

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.

The revelations were raised by Sinn Féin's Pearse Doherty and Gary Gannon of the Social Democrats who pressed the minister on her level of knowledge and her involvement.

Detailing Mr O'Reilly's case, Mr Kelly said her handling of protected disclosures would "haunt" the government.

Protected disclosure

The Tipperary TD told the Dáil that Mr O'Reilly had sent his protected disclosure to the minister in September 2023 as it impugned the then garda commissioner.

He said it was then sent to the Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner which made a statutory direction that the secretary general of the department of justice be appointed to investigate the matter.

"What happened next was detrimental to Brian O'Reilly's life, his career, his livelihood and the wellbeing of him, his wife, his children and his family," Mr Kelly told the Dáil.

"As Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee directed that the investigation be removed from her secretary general and redirected to An Garda Síochána, thereby usurping the OPDC's statutory direction. 

"Giving such direction is that office's role. We in this party know the legislation.

Deputy McEntee, as Minister for Justice, thereby revealed Brian O'Reilly's identity, depriving him of the legal protections he was entitled to and exposing the nature of his allegations. 

"In doing so, she acted without legal authority and directly interfered with a serious and significant protected disclosure."

Calling for an explanation, Mr Kelly said this was "either done deliberately — to be fair to her, I actually do not think it was — or it was just incompetence or a mistake".

Ms McEntee stressed that she was precluded from commenting on a protected disclosure.

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"In my role as Minister for Justice, at all times and on any matter, I adhered to the law and the structures we have to adhere to under this Act and legislation. 

"The Deputy can look elsewhere, shake his head at me or say that I was incompetent or whatever it is he was trying to suggest," she said.

• Elaine Loughlin, Political Editor