Garda failure is more than human error

It is not good enough for Justice Minister Michael McDowell and a garda spokesperson to dismiss as “human error” the failure of the gardaí to act on information relating to an international child pornography ring.

It is unbelievable that when the Austrian authorities alerted them through the Interpol office at garda headquarters six months ago, the response this week was a complete denial that they had been alerted.

That was quickly followed by an acknowledgement that they had received the alert concerning 2,360 people in 77 states, and two of the suspected computers, or IP addresses, were Irish-based.

This was a major investigation and all the garda spokesperson could add on national radio yesterday was that it was a “matter of regret”. It is significantly more than that, and Barnardo’s chief executive Fergus Finlay was hardly exaggerating when he described it as an “absolute disaster”.

The concern expressed by Paul Gilligan, chief executive of the ISPCC, is also understandable when he said the opportunity for prosecutions may have been lost. This is very pertinent, and the sloppiness by the gardaí is possibly responsible.

Late though it is, they are now to review their procedures in processing information from other authorities.