Tag Archives: Whistleblower

Last night.

RTÉ Investigates on Prime Time on RTÉ One.

Whistleblower Shane Corr (top) reveals how the Department of Health secretly used information from private doctor consultations to build and maintain dossiers on children with autism who were involved in legal actions against the State.

Almost 50 children with autism affected by secret dossiers (Irish Examiner)

The whistleblower exposing the Department of Health’s secret dossiers (Conor Ryan, RTÉ Investigates)

Meanwhile…

Ombudsman for Children Dr Niall Muldoon

This morning.

RTE Radio One’s Morning Ireland.

Children’s Ombudsman Niall Muldoon was asked if he wanted the practice stopped, he said: “Absolutely”.

He added:

“There’s a couple of questions need to happen, statements need to come out: Has this stopped? And also has the Department of Health made immediate contact with the families involved? Because there’s hundreds of families out there worried that they might be the ones involved here?

“They might be the ones who have had information gathered on them. So we need to make sure that those families know that they have this information available.

“And, finally, we want to take a look at see has this been happening in other lawsuits in which children are involved. Because, again, if you consider this to be normal, than I would very concerned about the culture that you’re working in.”

Later, asked what the impact of the revelations on the relationship between children involved and those providing care to them, he said:

“It’s got to be damaging. As you heard [HSE CEO] Paul Reid say there, earlier on, confidentiality is the cornerstone of all medical and therapeutic services. Our children with autism are going to these therapeutic services with the sense this is about them and them only and no information will be shared outwards.

“But to find that, if a child has a meltdown, or has some sort of challenging behaviour situation, that that is recorded for nobody to look at, not for a lawyer to use against them, that’s the absolute opposite of therapeutic service.

“There’s real serious concerns from that regard. So we have to ask: who asked for the information? And who gave the information? And those answers are crucial.”

Yesterday: Sickening

RollingNews

Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan

Today.

In the Irish Examiner.

Mick Clifford reports that a serving prison officer has made certain claims in a sworn affidavit to the Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan.

The officer has made the affidavit as he has “no confidence in the operation of the Protected Disclosure Act in either the prison service or the Department of Justice”.

News of the affidavit comes a week after a separate prison officer Noel McGree, in an unrelated case, appeared in private before the Public Accounts Committee after he made a protected disclosure two years ago.

Mr Clifford reports that the following claims are in the affidavit:

“Tracking devices were placed on a number of prison service vehicles and in the private cars of prison officers;

The drivers of the prison vehicles, and the prison officers whose private cars were tracked, were unaware of the surveillance…;

Some of these devices remained in place over a long period and intelligence gathered passed onto An Garda Síochána;

Listening devices were placed in the visitor area of one prison to gather information.

These devices were in situ for extended periods. In some instances, these devices were in place when prisoners had conversations with their solicitors;

The private detective agency was employed to install listening and tracking devices in order to shield the prison service from any legal repercussions that would attach if it had been done directly...’

Whistleblower: Tracking devices placed in prison officers’ cars (Mick Clifford, Irish Examiner)

Rollingnews

Last night.

The first half of ‘Whistleblower’, a documentary by Katie Hannon (top right) about Maurice McCabe’s fight against Gardai malfeasance, was broadcast on RTÉ One – featuring interviews with Sgt McCabe (top centre) and Lorraine McCabe (top left) and will conclude tonight at 9.35pm.

Watch back here

Meanwhile…

Further to a report in The Sunday Times by John Mooney last weekend…

In which Mr Mooney reported that the State is paying for the legal representation of former Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan in an action taken against him by Maurice McCabe, following an agreement finalised in mid-July…

After the Disclosures Tribunal heard evidence from Fianna Fail TD John McGuinness, Comptroller and Auditor General Seamus McCarthy, RTE journalist Philip Boucher Hayes and Fine Gael TD John Deasy that Mr Callinan spoke derogatorily to them about the now retired sergeant…

A petition has been set up on Uplift calling for the State not to do so.

The petition sets out the following reasons for why the State shouldn’t cover Mr Callinan’s legal costs:

1. The most senior Garda in the country knowingly and deliberately smeared a serving Garda who raised the shortcomings in performance of other Gardai.

2. The State already funded the Tribunal to establish the facts and the facts have vindicated Garda McCabe.

3. For the State to then indemnify the guilty party is further persecuting the McCabe’s and also means there is no consequence for the guilty party.

4. The Minister for Justice should review the former commissioners contract of employment to see what sanctions were possible for breach of contact for bringing the force into disrepute. If there is such a provision the State should then seek to review his retirement and pension arrangements and if necessary take action to recover costs borne by the State because of his scurrilous actions.

5. This sets a dangerous precedent, where employees of the State can ruin peoples lives with absolutely no consequence for their actions.

At the Disclosures Tribunal Judge Peter Charleton accepted Mr McGuinness’s evidence that Mr Callinan told him Sgt McCabe “fiddles with kids” and referred to both Sgt McCabe and former Garda John Wilson as “fucking headbangers” in January 2014.

He accepted that Mr Callinan told Mr McGuinness, during a meeting in a car park of Bewley’s Hotel on the Naas Road, Dublin, on Friday, January 24, 2014, that Sgt McCabe sexually abused his children and nieces.

And he accepted that Mr Callinan led him to believe there was a live investigation of some kind, causing Mr McGuinness to believe that charges against Sgt McCabe were imminent.

Judge Charleton accepted that Mr Callinan told Fine Gael TD John Deasy, on the way to a Public Accounts Committee meeting on Thursday, January 23, 2014, that Sgt McCabe was not to be believed or trusted with anything.

He also accepted the evidence of the Comptroller and Auditor General Seamus McCarthy – whose report into the quashing of penalty points was being discussed at that PAC meeting – that Mr Callinan told him Sgt McCabe was not to be trusted, that he had questions to answer, and that there were live allegations of sexual offences against him.

And he accepted that Mr Callinan told Mr Boucher-Hayes, before a broadcast of RTE’s Crimecall in December 2013, that Sgt McCabe was a “troubled individual” with a “lot of psychological issues and psychiatric issues”.

The petition can be signed here

90403343

Following an anonymous email sent to RTÉ…

RTÉ reports:

A whistleblower has alleged AIB misled regulators on its progress in dealing with loans which are in arrears.

The claims have been made over recent days to the Central Bank and the European Central Bank.

AIB has told RTÉ News that it is “not aware” of the allegations.

A spokesperson for the Central Bank said that while the bank cannot comment on specific allegations “any correspondence received by the Central Bank through its protected disclosure channel is treated seriously and examined thoroughly.”

…The individual said AIB tried to make progress on restructuring look better than it was in reality.

Whistleblower alleges AIB misled Central Bank, ECB (RTE)

Previously: AIB And ‘Fraud Of The Highest Order’

The Mortgage Arrears Reality

The Mortgage Arrears Pie

Rollingnews

90286329

mail

Michael O’Farrell, of the Irish Mail on Sunday, was on RTÉ One’s Morning Ireland earlier to discuss his story about a whistleblower who claimed staff at Bus Éireann received payments, favours, holidays and gifts in return for contracts to take disabled children to school.

The whistleblower’s claims were made in an affidavit sent to the Department of Transport last year. The semi-State company launched an internal investigation which concluded there was ‘no basis’ for any disciplinary action or for the gardaí to be notified.

Bus Éireann’s CEO Martin Nolan subsequently wrote to the Public Accounts Committee to notify it of Bus Éireann’s conclusions and stating that the whistleblower had “withdrawn his allegations”.

However, Mr O’Farrell obtained a secret tape recording of a meeting between a Bus Éireann official and the whistleblower, in which the whistleblower stood by his claims.

Michael O’Farrell: “Well, the story re-emerged this week because of a secret tape which we obtained of an interview between the Bus Éireann investigation panel and a particular whistleblower whom they interviewed. Now, the contents of that tape appeared quite significantly at odds with the conclusions of the Bus Éireann investigations, that Bus Éireann CEO Martin Nolan sent to the PAC and it’s those things that are at odds, that appear to be… the reason that this has now emerged.”

Rachel English: “You have had this tape for a while, so why has it become significant now?”

O’Farrell: “Until we knew what was the result of the investigation, the tape didn’t really have any significance, it was simply an interview process. But, when we saw that Martin Nolan told the PAC, for example that the whistleblower had withdrawn his claims, we knew, on the tape, that that wasn’t the case. When we saw that Martin Nolan had denied making any improper payments, it’s clear, when you listen to the tape, that that’s not the case. The whistle-blower in fact, does detail some gifts and services that he provided, or that he allegedly provided in return for keeping his contracts – and it’s also clear when you listen to the tape that the whistle-blower did not accept, as Martin Nolan told the PAC, that he had lost his contract in a fair tender. In fact, he maintains throughout his interview that he claims he’s been the victim for not contributing to a specific……”

English: “Can you tell us a little more about this – what does this man allege was going on at Bus Éireann?”

O’Farrell: “Effectively, he alleges that every year he was reliant on particular individuals to have his contracts renewed. And that those individuals had a great deal of power over whether, or not, he, and other contractors got their contracts. Now, in return for keeping their contracts, he and other contractors allege that they felt under pressure to provide gifts, free services, free taxi rides. There are mentions of holidays abroad paid-for flights, hotels – those kind of gifts are alleged to have been provided by Bus Éireann contractors in order for people to keep their contracts.”

English: “And what has Bus Éireann said then, about these allegations?”

O’Farrell: “Officially, to the PAC, Martin Nolan said that there was not enough evidence to refer to gardaí. Bus Éireann have always denied that these kind of practices can occur within the company. But going back years, there have been hints that these improper activities do occur – and it’s pretty clear that a real independent investigation has never taken place. I think this matter now is being referred to the gardaí by ministers and it’s probably the right place for it. In fact I’m aware of an investigation that the gardai would be able to pursue in this case.”

English: “And the man at the centre of this, is he prepared to go to the gardaí?”

O’Farrell: “Yes, in fact the man at the centre of this has a partner, or colleague who has made similar allegations. That person has already had a couple of informal meetings with the Fraud Squad. The two individuals have also… they’re receiving legal help from Transparency International who is preparing a formal case for the Fraud Squad and it seems as if an investigation will launch quite shortly.”

Read the former Bus Éireann contactor’s affidavit in full here

TV31TV4

[Screengrabs of a report by Ursula Halligan on TV3’s 5.30pm news tonight]

Ms Halligan reported on some of the evidence that the anonymous garda whistleblower will present to the Public Accounts Committee on Thursday, and a statement from him on the matter.

She reported that the garda sergeant will tell PAC that as many as 200 senior gardaí regularly quashed penalty points for family, friends and ‘powerful people’.

He will claim 14 senior gardaí were ‘habitual offenders’, with those 14 alone writing off fines worth €1million, and one of those 14 costing the State €80,000.

Among the examples he will present to PAC, include:

– A sports star who was caught speeding seven times – five in one day – by a Go-Safe van, which would amount to €560 in fines. But the sports star received neither a fine nor a penalty point. Ms Halligan reported that the whistleblower claims the only reason for the star not getting fined was ‘garda discretion’.

– A ticket issued for speeding on October 1, 2012 would have amounted to an €80 was later cancelled because the driver was ‘being tested at an NCT tester’. But when the whistleblower contacted the NCT centre, he was told the car had been NCTed 18 months earlier and was not being tested on the day the ticket was issued.

– In May 2011, a male motorist was caught speeding on a stretch of road in Kildare. The speeding ticket was cancelled by a senior officer, who explained it away by saying there was a query about the speed limits in the area. However, the whistleblower says 14 other motorists caught in the same place, around the same time, on the same day, by the same Go-Safe van, all had to pay their speeding fines.

Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan and the whistleblower will appear before PAC on Thursday, starting at 10am.

Watch the TV3 report in full here

Previously: The Right To Remain Silent

The 2.2%

glennbeck

Former Fox News loon Glenn Beck.

Has something to share.

“In the next 10 days, you are going to witness things in American history that have never been witnessed before,” says Glenn Beck of an announcement he plans to make “in the next 24 hours.”

He has one document, he says, that will take down the “entire power structure, pretty much everything,” and “greatly divide” the nation.

 

There goes the weekend.

Glenn Beck has news that will “rock the nation,” change “everything” (Salon)

(Above: Luke Ming Flanagan at a press conference in Buswells Hotel where extracts from a dossier of evidence referring to tens of thousands of fixed penalty notices being cancelled were presented.)

A motorist who was caught driving at 155km in a 100km zone and had his speeding ticket quashed was later involved in a crash in which another driver died, according to data released by four TDs yesterday.

A second motorist, who was killed in a crash in 2012, had a speeding ticket quashed by an inspector a month earlier. A third motorist, who had been speeding at 135km in a 100km zone and had his ticket “terminated” by a Garda inspector, was later involved in a hit and run and killed a pedestrian.

The 20 examples released by TDs Clare Daly, Mick Wallace, Joan Collins and Luke Ming Flanagan were from a dossier put together by two Garda whistleblowers. The TDs said they had been warned by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner not to release the full dossier, which included names, locations and specific dates.

In six of the examples, motorists who had speeding offences quashed by gardaí were later involved in fatal crashes.

‘Quashed ticket’ motorists in fatal crashes (Fiona Gartland, Irish Times)

Previously: Why The Points Matter

(Wanderley Massafelli/Photocall Ireland)

Fine Gael TD for Dublin Mid West, Derek Keating (left) pictured with re-instated patient advocate Louise Bayliss literally moments ago outside Leinster House.
Louise was let go from her contract with the Irish Advocacy Network after raising concerns about the closure of a psychiatric unit in St Brendan’s Hospital in Grangegorman, Dublin, over Christmas – thereby placing the female patients in a locked ward. Deputy Keating called publicly for her re-instatement.

Patient Advocate Bayliss Reinstated (Irish Examiner)

(Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland)