Independent 4 Change TDs Mick Wallace and Clare Daly at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Justice and Equality last October

Today.

Independent 4 Change TD Mick Wallace, in The Irish Times, writes:

Not surprisingly, the weak legislation establishing the Policing Authority has resulted in a weak Policing Authority in practice. The body was supposed to have responsibility for senior appointments from the outset, but this was delayed till January 2017. In the vacuum, Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan has appointed more than 40 senior officers.

The Garda Commissioner still remains exclusively accountable to the Minister for Justice, and the Police Authority cannot even issue policy directives. Does that sound independent? Shockingly, after 10 days, the authority broke its silence to endorse the Garda Commissioner, which amounts to an effective slap in the face to Sgt McCabe and other whistleblowers.

…O’Sullivan’s statements in public are at complete odds with her actions in private. In October 2016, she told the Oireachtas Justice Committee that “anyone who brings forward issues and concerns will be supported”.

But Garda Nick Keogh made his protected disclosure on May 8th, 2014, to the then confidential recipient, Judge Pat McMahon. Following that, he was subjected to five internal investigations.

Readers will recall how Garda Keogh has been on sick leave since December 2015.

Mick Wallace: To change An Garda, get rid of its hierarchy (The Irish Times)

Previously: New Mick’s Tape

You’ll Get Nothing From Me

‘Why Are Nine Garda Whistleblowers Out Sick?’

Protecting Disclosures