This afternoon.
On RTÉ’s News at One.
RTÉ’s Crime Correspondent Paul Reynolds reported that two senior members of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors are not attending the group’s annual conference which began in Cavan today.
Mr Reynolds said the decision of AGSI’s vice president Paul Wallace and its deputy general secretary Antoinette Cunningham not to attend followed the news that one of its members if being investigated by the National Bureau of Criminal Investigations.
He told Claire Byrne on RTÉ’s News At One:
“The allegation is that the member engaged in prohibitive spare time activities – specifically, engaged in outside security work, which is not permitted under the Garda code.
“Two protected disclosures have been put in, in relation to this. It’s being investigated by the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
“And the allegation also contains claims that false alarms were set off at a business and these were responded to by gardaí, in squad cars, patrol cars, in emergency fashion, with sirens blaring and lights flashing.
“And then these false alarms were then reported on the Garda PULSE system. So all this is being investigated by the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation.”
Later, the AGSI’s general secretary John Jacob told Ms Byrne:
“The association issued a press release last night in relation to this matter and they said that they haven’t been formally informed that an investigation of any sort is taking place and that the person involved has not been formally notified of an investigation taking place. But we have to believe the media reports when they say that one is taking place.”
“…The association does not know the details of the allegation.”
Mr Jacob also said the AGSI does not know who the allegation allegedly concerns.
Anyone?