THE ASSOCIATION OF Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) has said it is aware of an allegation made against a serving garda that is part of its organisation, and that it took legal advice over the matter.

The association is due to kick off its three-day annual conference in Cavan today, but two senior members of the AGSI have opted not to attend following the media reports on Friday about the allegation against the garda.

An investigation is under way into claims that a member of the AGSI may have taken on prohibited spare-time employment, RTÉ reported.

The claims were made via a protected disclosure, and it is being looked into by the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

In a statement, the AGSI said that its legal advice was that the member making the allegation should report it to An Garda Síochána.

“AGSI acted on this legal advice and it is our understanding that the allegations were subsequently reported by way of protective disclosure and are now under investigation,” it said.

For completeness, we wish to add that it is our understanding, the member concerned has not been formally notified of any allegation or any investigation. 

The association added that it’s important now to allow “due process take its course”, and said that it wouldn’t be commenting further on the matter.