Force doesn’t have its members’ trust

With all that has been revealed about the treatment of Sgt Maurice McCabe, it might have been reasonable

to presume that a whistleblower would now be considered a protected species, deserving of the utmost respect and encouragement.

How disheartening it is then to discover that the average Garda still trembles at the very idea of stumbling across wrongdoing or incompetence within the force lest their conscience pushes them in the direction of speaking out.

Standing up and speaking out, it seems, will inevitably lead to hostility, mistrust and various other ambition-thwarting, career-crushing repercussions.

That may not actually be the case but according to a “cultural audit” of the force — to which some 6,500 members responded — that is what they believe will happen if they blow the whistle on their own.

The way to get ahead, they say, is to know the right people, tick the right boxes and above all, say nothing.

Acting Commissioner Donall Ó Cualáin has thanked the respondents for their honest input into the audit. Rank and file gardaí would say that’s a first.

A lot has been said by senior Garda management about the need to restore public faith in the force. It is hard to see that happening if the force hasn’t yet built up the trust of its own members.