Garda Commissioner still hiding in plain sight
AT THE Oireachtas justice committee hearing, the Garda commissioner hid in plain sight.
Nóirín O’Sullivan gave assured answers to a number of questions but revealed precious little.
She cited a whole slew of procedures and structures that had nothing to do with flesh and blood questions asked. And she even got away with claiming that she could not discuss interactions she had with her legal counsel, which is simply not the case.
As such, the commissioner performed competently before the Oireachtas members, but did absolutely nothing to quell doubts about whether any confidence can be vested in the running of the force in general, and the treatment of whistleblowers in particular.
Independent TD Clare Daly asked the commissioner a number of questions that related to Keith Harrison, a Donegal-based garda who made a protected disclosure two years ago, and has since claimed he has been subjected to some appalling treatment. The commissioner said she could not discuss individual cases, but Daly did not identify Harrison, nor did she ask the commissioner to do so.
The TD merely wanted to know how the commissioner could be unaware of allegations of constant harassment of Harrison when the officer’s solicitor had written to O’Sullivan 14 times in the last two years.
“Each individual experience is so different that what we believe is an expert can help us improve our internal structures,” she replied to Daly at one point.
That was typical of the management speak engaged by the commissioner when she was asked about harassment and bullying of anybody willing to stick their head above the parapet within the force.
Harrison’s letters, seen by the Irish Examiner and dating from June 2014, refer to the constant bullying to which he was subjected. Some of it was routine stuff, more could be presented or interpreted as blatant harassment.
For instance, Harrison was contacted by a sergeant in August 2015 and told of “a threat of sorts” against him on a Facebook page. Harrison’s solicitor demanded to know what was at issue, as Facebook pages were readily available and there either was or wasn’t a threat.
It took until the following March before the solicitor was supplied with a screenshot of the page. Why write to Harrison about “a threat of sorts” without investigating it? Why the delay in getting back? Was anybody playing mind games?
Another threat that was conveyed to him from the force was that a man who had been known to have access to a gun had told another he’d kill Harrison. This man, Harrison was informed, was unfortunately in Australia and beyond the long arm of the law.
Except a few months later, a report in the local press had this man appearing in court in Buncrana on unrelated and relatively minor charges. Was sheer incompetence at work, paranoia, or something more sinister?
On May 20, Harrison’s solicitor Trevor Collins wrote a scathing letter about what his client had been subjected to over the previous two years.
“There has been an extraordinary effort to smear and undermine the credibility of our client by his employer, your servants and agents. He has been isolated and abandoned… we ask that you formally reply to our numerous letters that have gone unanswered.”
He went on to point out “our client has been the subject of unsubstantiated death threats on three occasions”.
Why were people threatening to kill Harrison? Why were these threats somehow being conveyed to him through An Garda Siochána? Is this not a matter of the gravest seriousness? Apparently not, according to the lack of urgency from on high.
Watching the commissioner yesterday, it would appear that she believes the treatment of Harrison is the story from one individual, a unique experience. No it’s not.
The same theme if not detail runs through the story of all those who step forward, including Maurice McCabe, and Harrison’s colleague in the midlands, Nick Keogh.
The same themes of treatment even apply to Supt David Taylor since he was suspended from the force and before he even made a protected disclosure.
Yesterday, O’Sullivan hid behind the notion that she couldn’t identify an officer who’d made a protected disclosure even though he’s known to the world.
Back in 2013, Maurice McCabe’s allegations of abuse of the penalty points system was investigated by Assistant Commissioner John O’Mahoney, who didn’t even contact McCabe during the investigation.
He later said he couldn’t because McCabe’s identity was officially anonymous, even though the same officer had been denied access to Pulse because of his complaints of the abuse. If McCabe had been contacted, a very different report on the issue would have to have been compiled.
It’s the same stuff every time. What is said in public bears no relation to the actuality of what is going on inside the force.
The thread was picked up by Independent TD Mick Wallace in relation to the O’Higgins commission, where Ms O’Sullivan’s counsel was instructed to go after McCabe by questioning his motives.
Asked about that yesterday, Nóirín O’Sullivan said she was precluded from discussing interactions with her legal counsel.
No she’s not. There’s nothing to stop her telling us why she instructed her counsel in that manner.
There’s nothing to stop her telling us a lot about the corrosive culture within the force that is damaging not just public confidence, but the morale of so many members who want to do their best.
“Cultural change is never easy, the job of leadership is to make sure that decisions are taken, decisions actioned…We are on a journey of cultural renewal, change and modernisation,” O’Sullivan told Wallace.
It sure sounds the business until you take a peek behind the circled wagons and detect an ancient and foul smell.
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