Whistleblower scandal - Minister should be long gone

A political earthquake, right off the Richter scale, struck the Dáil yesterday when embattled Justice Minister Alan Shatter finally withdrew and apologised for his damaging statements about garda whistleblowers, Sergeant Maurice McCabe and John Wilson, two courageous men who deserve to be thanked for exposing what is now known to be widespread abuse of the penalty points system by members of the force.

Having suffered severely as a result of the minister’s handling of this affair, their actions have been vindicated and the Dáil record corrected. Hopefully, though six months late with his apology, Mr Shatter will learn some lessons from this affair. His arrogant treatment of the whistleblowers contrasts starkly with the supportive backing they got from Transport Minister Leo Varadkar, who, after the “disgusting” reference by former Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan, described their actions as “distinguished”.

Much of the problem in this regrettable scenario has been the Taoiseach’s blind faith in Mr Shatter, loyalty which excluded any doubt when the dogs on the street knew an apology was warranted.

Defying public opinion over his handling of the whistleblower crisis and the inconceivable and unacceptable ignorance of crucial facts in the latest episode of ‘Gardagate’, the Taoiseach gave him knee-jerk support and patronage, and has come out of this affair with his reputation badly hit.

Meanwhile, people find it unbelievable that a minister who takes pride in being on top of his brief and gets to the office at dawn so he can read every document, should be unaware of a scenario that can only be described as political dynamite. It defies credulity that the Department of Justice knew about the recording of telephone calls in Garda stations almost a month before he was informed.

Among those bugged were journalists, gardaí, and at least one known case where the conversation of a witness in criminal investigations was taped. Private conversations between legal representatives and clients may also have been bugged, raising the possibility that a plethora of court rulings may be overturned. More questions were raised than answered during yesterday’s dramatic and tense session of Dáil Éireann.

Was a smoking gun put to Mr Callinan’s head by a senior civil servant who was sent by the Taoiseach to see him on Monday night, effectively forcing his early retirement next morning? Mr Kenny stands accused of effectively firing him, a charge he vehemently denies.

Furthermore, why is it that Mr Shatter was not shown until Tuesday the contents of a letter sent by Mr Callinan to the department about the bugging of phone calls made to and from Garda stations, information that had been in the possession of the attorney general for four months?

Such a serious communications breakdown is perplexing and inexcusable.

Given the world of smoke and mirrors inhabited by the political classes, it is hard to avoid suspicions that this latest crisis was deliberately engineered by an arm of government to deflect the public gaze from the ongoing whistleblower controversy.

Despite opposition party calls for Mr Shatter’s head, he is unlikely to lose it while the Government continues to enjoy a thumping Dáil majority and as long as he continues to get the eyes-wide-shut loyalty of the Taoiseach. In any other jurisdiction, the minister would have been forced to resign long ago. But he is not yet out of the woods and may be cited in probes now under way.