Whistleblower issue still looms - Garda allegations

It is hard to imagine that morale in the Garda Siochána could sink any lower.

Considering that rank and file members of the force are seriously considering going on strike and, thereby, prepared to breach rather than enforce the criminal law, it is of grave concern that the issue of whistleblowers has not gone away.

When Noírín O’Sullivan was appointed Garda Commissioner in 2014, after the demise of Martin Callinan over substantially the same issue, it was hoped that she would bring a breath of fresh air to the force and put in place mechanisms for whistleblowers so that their voices would be heard.

On the one hand, Commissioner O’Sullivan has been anxious to reassure whistleblowers but in practice, and in private, she has been less supportive of them, as evidenced by instructions she gave her legal counsel during the O’Higgins inquiry last May in relation to the allegations of corruption in the Garda Síochána made by Sergeant Gerry McCabe.

The Taoiseach has now indicated that what he describes as a ’sitting judge’ may be required to examine protected disclosures from two gardaí alleging that senior officers were involved in a smear campaign against a whistleblower.

Were the situation not so serious it would almost be risible. Whether Mr Kenny appoints a sitting judge or not, the truth must be exposed and if that makes the position of Commissioner O’Sullivan untenable, so be it.