The futility of Gardaí investigating their own

Last Wednesday, in the course of a debate on new whistleblower legislation, Independent TD Mick Wallace referred to a transcript of a conversation between Garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe and the man who held the office of Confidential Recipient.

This office was set up in the wake of the Morris tribunal to accept and process complaints from gardaí about malpractice or corruption within the force.

On June 14, 2011, Justice Minister Alan Shatter appointed solicitor Oliver Connolly to the post. Connolly had once given a contribution of €1,000 to one of Shatter’s previous election campaigns.