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A GARDA WHISTLEBLOWER who made a protected disclosure about the behaviour of a senior officer has claimed that he spread rumours that she was having an affair around the station in a bid to discredit her case, TheJournal.ie has learned.
The whistleblower, who is married, alleges that the rumours about her were spread to try to stop her from speaking out about alleged misconduct in the station and to lower her reputation in the eyes of her colleagues.
The woman, who made the protected disclosure to management in 2016, claims that she was repeatedly asked about the affair in private conversations with people she knew.
Yesterday, we revealed that a protected disclosure made by the woman accused senior gardaí at her garda station of a litany of abuses.
She alleged that senior gardaí at the station, directed by a senior officer, failed to tell her that a criminal who previously threatened her was believed to be in possession of a handgun. She also made a number of other complaints regarding the behaviour of senior gardaí which she says has had a direct impact on how policing is being conducted in the district.
It has been alleged that the actions of senior gardaí have installed a culture of fear into the station where rank-and-file officers are terrified to bring up any form of malpractice lest they be admonished or disciplined.
As well as the rumour about her having an affair, the garda was also told by a sergeant at the station who, after examining the whistleblower’s phone, said he was happy to see that there had been no calls or texts between her and a violent convict.
The garda claims that it emerged through conversations with serving members that the senior officer at the station ordered that all phone calls made by the woman to the station should be documented and write up a brief description of what the call entailed.
According to the protected disclosure, he also ordered gardaí to review the whistleblower’s timesheets, leave requests and sick days and compare them with those of another garda in the station to see if a pattern emerged. A desk clerk who was ordered to search these records asked the senior officer why he wanted her to do this. He allegedly told her he suspected the two gardaí were having an affair.
When TheJournal.ie contacted the whistleblower about her complaints, we were told there would be no comment forthcoming and that we should direct any queries to the Garda Press Office.
However, a well-placed source in the region who would only speak on the condition of anonymity, said that the woman’s life was turned upside down as a result of the rumour.
“It didn’t matter how many times she said it wasn’t true, everyone was saying ‘there’s no smoke without fire’ and that there was something going on with the other garda. He has actually been supporting her through all this since she made the protected disclosure and even before that. He saw the way she was being treated and went in to stand up for her.
“The way I see it is this woman’s name is being blackened because she had the nerve to challenge her superior about his conduct. It stinks of trying to ruin someone’s reputation to save yourself.”
The rumours
According to the protected disclosure: “[A Garda] told me that when I had called, the [senior officer] was standing beside her, and that when the call had finished he asked her to document the call.
“He then instructed her to send me an email. [Garda] told him that she did not have my private email address and he told her that he would get a Sergeant to do it. [Garda] told me that she had told [a superior] that she was not comfortable doing this.
“[Garda] told me another named garda who was the district clerk at the station told her in early 2016 to take both [the garda accused of the affair] and my [leave] forms and TOIL [time off in lieu] applications to see if there was a pattern.
“She told me that the district clerk had asked her to do this on the direction of the senior officer. She told me that [district clerk] had asked her to draw up a chart of any days that corresponded.
“[Garda] told me that she had been asked to look back on our records to August 2015. She also told me that this had been the reason all the units had been changed to keep us apart.”
The rumour of the affair spread through the large station and both members were repeatedly asked about it in private conversations by their friends.
The whistleblower’s husband has also filed a complaint to GSOC in relation to this.
The protected disclosure was one of three submitted by serving members of An Garda Síochána in 2016.
Garda management has been attempting to make the police force a more transparent organisation in the wake of the whistleblower scandal involving Sergeant Maurice McCabe.
Under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014, gardaí may confidentially disclose allegations of wrongdoings within the force. Every disclosure is dealt with by an officer at assistant commissioner level or higher in the first instance, in complete confidentiality. As of now, there have been no findings from the investigation and no disciplinary proceedings have been brought against any officer in relation to this disclosure.
Physical intimidation
The whistleblower also accused a senior officer of physically intimidating her after she made an official complaint to management regarding his behaviour.
Three and a half months after making her protected disclosure, the garda described how the senior officer at the station made her feel unsafe and that she was the victim of unwanted physical contact from him in front of a number of on-duty gardai at the station.
In the summer of 2016, she was contacted by a member at her station who told her that another officer was taking over one of her cases due to her being on leave. An important file relating to a case could not be found so the whistleblower returned to the station a few days later and searched for the file. She was being briefed by other gardaí whether the senior officer was in at the time so she could avoid any potential conflict.
She managed to print out the file only for the senior officer to “burst through the door”. There were at least six gardaí in the room at this time.
A heavily-redacted copy of the disclosure, seen by TheJournal.ie, reads:
“[A garda] who had been standing to my left, stepped away from me and walked towards the hatch. I remember her walking across his path as he walked towards me. I knew he was walking towards me and I felt petrified. I felt my legs go weak [and I] instantly plonked down in the chair beside me.
“Up until this point the atmosphere had been positive. I was glad to see my colleagues and I felt they were glad to see me. I could feel myself beginning to get panicked. I tried to steady myself by going back to the computer which was still open with my search on Pulse for the incident in relation to the file. [The senior officer] came right over beside me where I was sitting.
“He was to the right of me. He placed both his hands on the bottom edge of the table and leaned over it. He said nothing and I was afraid to move. His left forearm was right up against my right upper arm. I was using the mouse of the computer with my right hand. I could feel his left arm make contact with my body and this made me freeze. I couldn’t believe that he was touching against me.
I could feel my heart pounding and could hear it in my ears. I was truly frightened and felt nauseous. I could see peripherally that the senior officer was examining what I was doing on the Pulse computer. He did not move from the position he was standing in. I tried to ignore him. It was humiliating to me. If I were to turn to the right, his face would have been approximately 12 inches from my face and at the same level.
The garda remains on stress leave having signed off on in early 2016 – in that time her protected disclosure has remained processing by Garda HQ and nothing has happened since.
An Garda Síochána said it does not comment on protected disclosures made to the organisation. However, its policy on how they deal with disclosures can be found here.
Could someone from the AAA please enlighten us as to where Socialism has ever worked?
@Fergus Sheahan: It worked for Chavez’s family and close friends. Is that the kind of answer you were looking for?
@Libertarian Ireland:
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others…
@Fergus Sheahan: you mean the AAA’s brand of socialism aka populist socialism
As aspects of socialism can work well together in balance with capitalism e.g. Social welfare system; Norwegian tax system etc
@Vic’s Burd: Ireland has a balance between socialism and capitalism.
@Fergus Sheahan: Vietnam’s the only country I know of.
@Avina Laaf:
Well, thats old news. Identity politics (the kind that hates on white men) will decide who gets what in the new order.
Its time for a stimulus for the helicopter industry,
Join us
Maduro and his predecessor Chavez are darlings of the Left, lionised by our own President. Since the election of Chavez, Venezuela has become a basket-case economy – and coincidentally Chavez’s daughter has become the wealthiest woman in the country (although she prefers to enjoy her ill-gotten gains in Switzerland, far from the squalor that her father created).
Chavez, Maduro and Socialism have destroyed Venezuela, just as Socialism had destroyed
@Brian Lenehan:
Ami Horowitz… https://youtu.be/A0ON0xUMawg
Socialism always leads to poverty.
Yes the people of Norway and Sweden are so poor
@Ibhar Mac Suibhne:
Yes Sweden, such a harmonious society of late, probably the most refugee welcoming, Islam friendly society in Europe… That was recently stuck with Islamic terror… https://www.google.ie/amp/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN0SG0I220151022
@Ibhar Mac Suibhne:
Swedes forced go to Finland for medical care due to overcrowding… https://www.thelocal.se/20161229/swedes-forced-to-go-to-finland-to-give-birth-due-to-overcrowding?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
@Ibhar Mac Suibhne:
Norway?? Norway is a oil rich, stand alone nation, the country is currently being run by a centrist led political party, before that, it was a conservative led minority government.
@Brian Lenehan: That’s a totally false you’re making Venezuela sound like a modern European state pre Chavez. Inflation was double before was Chavez was elected and Venezuela had numerous severe banking crises only a few years before him. Poverty was far worse as was illiteracy. Economical troubles because of low revenue due to falling oil prices were around before him too.
It is largely because he never moved Venezuela off oil which is a stupid thing to do when you fund your policies with it. Would have been a warning sign to Scotland when it sought independence and made claims based on oil barrel prices which were several times higher than they are now.
Oh yeah, if you google ‘ Hugo Chavez daughter wealth’ you can see the people you got that information off. FoxNews, Breitbart, National Review, Dailymail, etc. are all the top searches
Maduro is quite sinister, however.
@Ibhar Mac Suibhne:
You cannot consider Norway and Sweden in same extreme framework as
Venezuela. Venezuela is based on populist socialism, that our looney lefties here preach, which has clearly destabilised the economy.
In this blog: http://blog.peerform.com/top-ten-most-socialist-countries-in-the-world/
Ireland is regarded, along with Norway and Sweden, as a socialist nation too. We have one of the best welfare systems in the world.
We could model the Norway anti-populist socialist model as the best in the world, but they have their oil to maintain this system.
@Lepanto: The topic of this conversation was socialism I thought?
@Vic’s Burd: I was commenting on Lepantos comment that “socialism always leads to poverty”
And by the way Venezuela has plenty of oil too, its just unlike Venezuela Norway doesn’t have the USA undermining its socialist stance.
@Lepanto: “Swedes forced go to Finland for medical care due to overcrowding…”
Shit happens Lepanto, under the Irish National treatment purchase fund , I was sent by the HSE to the UK for treatment…..what’s your point here?
@Jason Byrne: Let me school you. I’m Irish-Venezuelan. You’ve said that”Inflation was double before was Chavez was elected” This is total BS AAA crap.
Let me tell you in figures you can understand, which is the local currency Bolvar – USD exchange rates. The Bolivar had a very solid and stable exhange rate of Bs 4.30 per USD. This lasted for decades until Black Friday in 1983 when protectionist economic measures backfired fast and started inflation as we know it.
In 1984 it was Bs 13.55 per USD. in 1990 it was Bs 42.65 per USD. in 1999, the year before Chavez came to power was Bs 509 per USD. In 16 years the Bolivar went from Bs 4.30 to Bs 509.
Then in 2007 a new currency was introduced. The Bolivar Fuerte (Strong bolivar) which was the old currency divided by 1000. So in 2007 when the new Bolivar was introduced it was Bs 2150 per USD so it became VEF 2.15 per USD.
Now in 2017, there is no real way to buy currency, the official exchange rate is VEF 9.90 per USD, but its a Micky mouse rate, only a very small numbers of first necessity companies gets access to some of this rate. the day to dasy business and prices are based in the open parallel market which is VEF 4400 per USD. YES, Four Thousand Four Hundred and Forty VEF to $1. which means Bs 4400000 of the old currency. (Over for Millions in case you think I’ve made a typo).
So compare from 4.30 to 509 in 16 years Pre-Chavez and from 509 to 4400000 17 years after. You do the maths.
@Ibhar Mac Suibhne: what always lead’s to poverty is greed, corruption, lies and no accountability which happens to govts left and right depending on the type of individuals involved. Our own government is a good example of this.
@Brian Lenehan:
Utopia is not for this world. Dont believe anyone who tells you it is.
Especially worth reflecting on at Easter time. Che, Chavez, nor Lenin did not die for your sins.
Where’s Waddler
@Chef Harold:
He’ll be along shortly to tell us that the problem isn’t too much socialism, it’s not enough socialism, and that the capitalist elites are somehow preventing Maduro from printing more money to solve all the problems. Or something.
I think he got another account blocked again. Don’t you need a phone number to register. Guess he ran out of phones
Would be interesting to see Boyd Barrett et al attend.
Although it is true that Venezuela is closer to achieving equality than Ireland is, in that everyone is equally poor, starving and at risk of violence.
Yea like Capitalism has really done wonders for the world. I’m sure greed, corruption, outside influences and poor regulation of power, which seem to feature in all political systems, have all contributed to the dreadful goings on in Venezuela, but I do prefer the ideologies of Socialism to Capitalism.
@Aogan Keyes: you can’t eat ideology, Socialism sounds good but it doesn’t work and it never has, human natural works against it, Paul Murphy should pay Caracas a visit
@Aogan Keyes: All isms are bad, there is no system that looks after the people properly, yet we have a nightmare government making rich foreigners even richer and I bet there will be no support marches in Venezuela or any other countries where people want to get themselves hear heard. We really need to worry about the growing problems we have here already. Illegal migrants are sucking this country dry, now if we wealthy enough to provide shelter and food but we were bled by The EU over several years, listened to politicians making cut and cut but people still came here with no welfare systems to claim what they felt entitled to. Migrants are find if they want to contribute but coming here for the freebies is disgraceful but nobody is stopping it. I am not picking on Venezuelan living here but whatever happened EU citizens being granted free movement or was that a joke?
@Aogan Keyes:
I love it, so it’s capitalism’s fault from other countries which is the problem and not socialism itself. You should hook up with Wally to discuss printing money as apparently with Socialism you can simply print as much as you want with no negative impact
@Aogan Keyes:
Capitalism has pulled more people out of poverty than any other economic system, it’s not perfect, none are, but Socialists/Communists think Socialism IS the perfect system.
@Fergus Sheahan: there are different forms of socialism, the populist-socialism that Paul Murphy and his party favours was the same model that Venezuela used.
Ireland is regarded as a socialist nation more than capitalist; with our welfare system and strong constitutional led policies. As is Norway, Finland, Netherlands etc. Like us they are all non-populist socialism with an element of capitalism thrown in.
There has to be a balance.
@Vic’s Burd: everything in moderation works, Paul Murphy is a clown we can all agree on that
@Aogan Keyes: You sir, are overfed on clean capitalist food. I think a spell in the GULAG would increase your love for the state and its forcible redistribution of others property. You can fill your cup will socialist ideology as you labour in the Uranium mines of Siberia.
@Vic’s Burd:
None of those countries are socialist. They allow for the private ownership of capital. They are capitalist, with strong welfare programmes.
And the end game of welfare states is upon us, the generation that is meant to pay for all these benefits are either not born, or languishing in low wage hell.
You always run out of other peoples money in the end.
I’ll put it on my bucket list
@Fergus Sheahan:
Don’t encourage murphy to go globe trotting on the taxpayers expense. He’ll be off like a shot on “fact finding” visits. Sure he’s already been to Egypt to support his Muslim brotherhood detainees on our expense.
This has to be one of most undocumented crisies in the world, children are dying because that socialist dimwitted bus driver maduro is single handidly(along with his cronies) destroying a country that was the richest in South America in 2001 along with his deceased predecessor Chavez. Socialism never works as for that crowd AAA in Ireland they make me physically sick with their utter nonsense.A crying shame considering it has the most oil reserves per capita in the world.
With regards to the passenger on United Airline being physically pulled off the plane and now has a broken nose and has lost some teeth, the slogan for United Airlines was “The Friendly Airline” Really !!! Companies have lost respect for their customers, The only thing that counts is to post a profit every quarter.
Why not protest about the scandal of our homeless people instead? Get our own house in order first and keep the pressure on the FG traitors.
No one representative from Ireland attended today, not on…no AAA, no SF, no FF, no FG and no IDP. Anyone know what any of our political parties stance is on the situation in Venezuela is? #NoMasDictadura
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