Questions over media relations with gardaí

FROM a political viewpoint, former minister Pat Carey had no choice but to step down as Fianna Fáil’s director of elections for the forthcoming general election.

While he has absolutely and unconditionally denied any wrongdoing in his long career, or any impropriety, amid Garda investigations into child abuse allegations dating back to the 1980s made by a woman against a former government minister, the reality is that the longer the probe continued, the more untenable his position as director of elections would become.

That is the realpolitik behind the sensational developments of recent days which have left the country’s main opposition party reeling. There can be no doubt that even though Mr Carey said in a statement that he does not know if the allegations of abuse in the media relate to him, he knew the party’s electoral prospects would be seriously damaged if he remained in the post. He has also decided to step aside from membership of Fianna Fáil and vacate his position as chair of the Red Cross.

Against this backdrop, several questions arise. A burning question in the public mind is why Mr Carey felt obliged to take such drastic steps in the face of allegations which remain in the realm of “innuendo”, to quote the statement issued by his solicitor. The inescapable answer is that with a cloud hanging over him he could not remain as director of elections. His decision to step aside was characteristic of a man widely respected in politics, a person who had the courage to come out as a gay man and play a leading role in the same-sex marriage campaign despite the lukewarm involvement of his party.

Yet, there seems to be something entirely wrong about a situation in which someone should feel compelled to resign when the allegations have not even been put to him by gardaí carrying out the probe. Nor, aside from leaks and rumours, has he been formally named in relation to allegations yet to be substantiated. It is unfortunate and highly regrettable that an age where communications are increasingly influenced by the instant power of the so-called ‘social media’ to transmit any kind of message, regardless of the impact on an individual, makes it virtually impossible to keep anything under wraps. Once any name is out there, its dissemination becomes viral even though it is not mentioned in the columns of the traditional print media or on the airwaves.

It is worrying when a person’s identity is widely circulated without them being questioned on grave issues by the gardaí or even informed about the content of the allegation being levelled against them. Despite being kept in the dark while categorically denying any impropriety, a person might feel, rightly or wrongly, that they have been painted into a corner with no alternative but to resign.

This situation has given rise to major questions of public interest concerning the gardaí and the media. It has been leaked that the allegations suggest the abuse was at the lower end of the scale, as if to suggest the matter was not so grave. Yet even at the lower end of the scale, abuse can be severely damaging and have a life-changing effect on the victims.