THE GARDA COMMISSIONER has reiterated his conviction that gardaí were not involved in bugging at the Garda Ombudsman’s office.
In a statement released this afternoon, Martin Callinan said that he had raised the issue of a journalist having access to sensitive information.
“Given the tight internal controls governing the use of the surveillance equipment used by An Garda Síochána, I am completely satisfied that there was no unauthorised access to this equipment.
“Given these tight external and internal controls, I am entirely satisfied that An Garda Síochána was not involved in any surveillance of the headquarters, or the members, of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC).
I became concerned about a number of articles which appeared over a protracted period of time that appeared to indicate that a particular journalist was privy to highly sensitive information concerning high profile investigations being undertaken by GSOC. In that context, I raised those concerns with the Commission.
Callinan said that he fully supports the work of GSOC and says that it is an important statutory body.
“The importance of having an independent and effective investigative body to ensure that Irish citizens continue to have trust in An Garda Síochána cannot be overstated.
“The ongoing respect and trust from communities nationwide is something An Garda Síochána work hard at to achieve, that we never take for granted, and it is our intention to maintain it. I see the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission as having a valuable role in this respect.”
In their own statement, GSOC said that they were focused on their role.
“GSOC dominated by controversy for past week,” they tweeted “Now our priority is on important work we undertake as an independent statutory agency.”
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