Supt Taylor applies to retire: A way to change a rancid culture

The Charleton report published last week found, among other things, former Garda press officer Supt David Taylor “swore an affidavit that was almost entirely made up of nothing but lies”.

Supt Taylor was suspended and is to apply to retire; that application is regarded as a formality.

On one level — the don’t-kick-a-man-when-he’s-down level — this seems a tolerable resolution of an intolerable situation.

On another level — the reap-as-ye-sow level — it is another affront to stretched civic morality and taxpayers.

Garda superintendents earn up to €88,000 a year so Taylor’s tax-free golden handshake will be close enough to €150,000 and he will enjoy a full, commensurate pension.

Disciplinary proceedings also end once he retires.

Taylor is not the first, nor will he be the last, public servant who behaved so very poorly knowing there was no possibility of losing a portion of his retirement income.

It seems fair to ask that if there was the possibility of his pension being reduced if he was found to have behaved appallingly — as he did — might he have behaved differently?

It also seems fair to ask why he should enjoy the same benefits as an officer who retires with an impeccable record.

It is not hard to imagine that a process like this, one invoked only in extreme circumstances, could have a transformative impact on the rancid culture of impunity undermining so many essential public services.