THE CEANN COMHAIRLE has referred comments made by TD Paul Murphy to the Oireachtas Committee on Procedure.
Seán Ó Fearghaíl made the decision after he consulted with the parliamentary legal adviser.
In a statement released today, Ó Fearghaíl said he referred the matter to the committee “for its consideration and decision”.
During Leaders’ Questions yesterday, Murphy used his Dáil privilege to accuse gardaí of committing perjury during the recent Jobstown trial, saying he believed “numerous gardaí lied under oath … in a coordinated way”.
Murphy was referencing some of the evidence given by gardaí during the trial of him and five other men who were accused of the false imprisonment of former Tánaiste Joan Burton and her adviser Karen O’Connell at a protest in Jobstown, Tallaght in November 2014.
Public inquiry
The Solidarity TD has called for a public inquiry into the matter. He and the other men on trial were all found not guilty last month.
In response to Murphy yesterday, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the scenes at the Jobstown protest were “ugly” and “violent”, and he accused Murphy of “thuggery”.
The Committee on Procedure will now examine if Murphy’s comments breached rules surrounding Dáil privilege.
An Garda Síochána is carrying out review into their investigation into the protest. Assistant Commissioner Barry O’Brien is leading the review and will look at “key learning points; identification of organisational practices/policies which require improvement; training and any other issues of note”.
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