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A FORMER DUBLIN-based garda, who “effectively wrote his own P45” when he leaked highly-sensitive personal information, has been fined €3,000.
Joseph O’Connor, 38, from Morrell Grove, Naas, Kildare, pleaded guilty at Dublin District Court to three counts of illegally disclosing information on three private individuals to others contrary to the Data Protection Act.
The court heard that one of the data breaches was in connection with a road traffic accident and the offences involved information held on the Garda Pulse system, which Judge Michael Walsh warned should only be used by officers in the course of their normal duties.
O’Connor, who had been a member of the force for 11 years, had pleaded guilty on 11 July and the case had been adjourned until today for sentencing. He was prosecuted following a probe by Superintendent George Kyne of the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Finalising the case, Judge Michael Walsh said the accused was before the court for offences committed between 20 February and 22 February 2013, 11 June and 16 June 2011 and 5 June and 7 June 2012.
He said the accused had without authority obtained information on three named people and disclosed it to three other people.
He noted that the accused had pleaded guilty on 11 July when he was first charged. The Director of Public Prosecutions had held that the case should only remain in the district court subject to a guilty plea being entered. He had accepted jurisdiction and noted the information disclosed between 20 February and 22 February 2013 was sensitive and related to a road traffic accident.
In one of the other incidents, information was disclosed to an individual about another man known to him, he said. Judge Walsh remarked that the data breach in 2012 also involved “highly sensitive information”.
He said gardaí must comply with data protection legislation, and information on individuals must only be used by officers “in the normal course of their function”. He was satisfied O’Connor had breached the Data Protection Act and the code of practice of An Garda Síochána.
He described the charges as “particularly serious offences” and when he became a garda, O’Connor would have taken an oath to carry out his duties with integrity.
He said he was convicting him and added that he had taken into account extensive pleas on O’Connor’s behalf.
He noted O’Connor, who was represented by solicitor Liz Hughes, was of previous good character and had an unblemished record. He said that in carrying out the offences he had effectively terminated his own employment, “effectively wrote his own P455” and he failed to act in accordance with protocols.
He noted the man has tendered his resignation which saved the expense of disciplinary proceedings and possible termination.
O’Connor had lost his career and had co-operated fully with the enquiry, the judge said and he noted it appears the 38-year-old did not benefit from the disclosures. He also noted from the evidence of Superintendent Kyne that the offences did not cause damage or anxiety to the parties involved and the accused comes from a good family with a long history of public service.
He imposed fines of €750, €1,000 and €1,250 in respect of the three offences.
The charges could not have attracted a jail term. The maximum fine that could be imposed in the District Court is €3,000 per offence or a total of €9,000 for the three offences.
Assistant Data Protection Commissioner Tony Delaney was at the court to observe the proceedings today.
Speaking afterwards he said: “I welcome the convictions and fines which were imposed today. They send out a strong signal to members of An Garda Síochána and to public servants generally that they will face serious consequences for unlawfully accessing and disclosing personal data which is made available to them in their workplaces solely for the purposes of their official duties.
“I also welcome the fact that this prosecution was brought by An Garda Síochána against one of its own members and I believe that this underlines the seriousness that An Garda Síochána attaches to breaches of data protection law within its ranks.”
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I’d say there wouldn’t be many guards left if they charged them all that accesses that system and passed on Info “off the record “
@P: what are you basing that on?
@justasheedy: not all but alot. Every one of them I know anyway.
@gold3n: how many do you know? Sure if they are doing it report them then, unless the ones you know are passing it onto you and if thats the case id have to ask what your reasons are for that. Dont get me wrong i think its disgusting what happened in the above article but of you know guards who are doing it wouldnt we all be better off without that type of guard, but i suspect your not gonna rat your friends out
@justasheedy: sorry but I know plenty that do, some of that info has been relayed to me before. And everyone knows they’ll always get you back if you rat, even more so nowadays if you’ve seen what happened the whistleblowers.
@George Beckett: dont be sorry george im just asking these questions because id genuinely like to know the answers. In terms of guards getting you back, have you experienced it yourself? Regarding whistleblowers, yes it appears to be the case by in large but as with every whistleblower there is always the possibility of one doing it to be malicious for reasons only known to themselves. Again i just wanna say i think the above matter is disgusting and had potential to be extremely dangerous for those involved
@P: every keystroke is logged, your password, when, where etc, its a silly thing to attempt nowadays
@justasheedy: I haven’t but it’s a commonly known fact, especially in rural Ireland. Nothing major but it’s the little things;
Targeting underage drinkers to steal the drink and split among themselves or bring to weddings, ditto for fireworks.
If you want some gossip on a man he can be found on pulse.
Legal tips like never pay for non council owned car parks, they can’t access your details.
Harmless, but can lead to more questionable actions.
I actually haven’t read much of the whistleblowing stuff in the media but indirectly have heard about 2 cases from source. The outrage would be to a pitchforks out marching level were the rumours I’ve heard true.
Root and branch reform is needed to stamp out corruption, it gets worse the higher you go.
@George Beckett: are you suggesting that the guards are targeting underage people to get them to steal drink so the guards can seize the drink for themselves. regards the car parks and not paying the fees thats just silly. car parks will just clamp your car and wont release until you pay the fine. They dont need to access your details as they have your car clamped and if you want it released you pay the release fee. Its very simple really. Reform is needed but to imply that its pure corruption is in my opinion wrong. there is a few rotten apples, does a few rotten apples mean you gotta destroy the entire barrel. george you appear to be commenting on hearsay “from what youve heard” Chinese whispers can be told to suit the tellers needs, and really that for me doesnt carry much water
@justasheedy: no I am saying they are allocating disproportionate resources towards getting drink from 15/16 year olds on a bus to a junior disco.
Not every car park will clamp you, that’s the exception rather than the rule from what I’m aware.
Yes I know, sure prosecuting another garda for drink driving was so irresponsible of another Garda (sarcasm).
Sounds like you’re a Garda yourself or connected to those in it. Yes it’s not all bad apples, but it’s more than a few.
The ones that aren’t are in a culture that accepts it anyways. Will probably always be that way being honest, human nature.
@George Beckett: sorry correction to my above comment, your suggesting guards steal the drink off young people. You could look at it that way or also look at it that the young people shouldnt have the drink in the first place and the guards are simply looking out for the childrens well being and also so that the guards dont have to deal later on the night with drunk ones puking everywhere and causing hassle to the community. Now theres another spin on the same story for you. If the young ones are so put out by it suggest to them they go to the station with their parents and get the parents to get the drink back from the guards. Id be verly confident that 99 outta 100 wouldnt do it.
@George Beckett: im not a guard no or have friends or family in it either, im very concerned with all the stories coming out about them and i cant see an end in sight for them, what i am is someone who respects an extremely hard profession. I believe the guards by in large try their very best for the people of this country and are let down by senior mgmt and by the court system. Guards can do no right at all because whatever they do someone will not be happy and thats the nature of their work.
@George Beckett: i honestly feel old guard mgmt have let down the honest member to the point that guards not only are getting bashed from the community they serve but from tge mgmt they answer to. I feel the guard on the street needs support from the community and i know my local guards would bend over backwards to help me because i support them, and thats human nature, you offer help and support and youll receive it, but lets be honest guards are only ever called when theres trouble so straight off itll always be a negative interaction
Funny how people give out about the Gardai and corruption and forget about the thousands of people that are supporting it. All the speeding tickets and parking tickets that were wiped were done because Joe Public asked the Gardai to do so. Same with this. Three members of Joe Public wanted the information. Same with the property crash, it’s all the banks fault, no mention of the people that over borrowed and lived a lifestyle beyond their means. If the public start to realise their role in corruption and the economy we could possibly look to move forward a little better
@Nick Allen: I never borrowed or lived beyond my means like quite a lot of folk. Where was the financial regulator when the banks were loaning billions to developers? Signs were there but the government were asleep at the wheel
why does it take 5 years to get to court?
@Mary Murphy: court system is overflowing with repeat offenders who should’ve been locked up on their first or second offence and the legal-eagles need to make their millions.
Gardai do this on a constant basis. He’s just the one who got caught.
Ironic after the recent news report regarding the “trust” we the public h
@j4VEpUO8: Looks like the Gardaí got to this commenter before they could spill the beans.
Not good enough
@billy Dorney:
What isn’t ?
@Nick Allen: he’s just being a silly billy
@scientia:
He didn’t exactly sell state secrets. He lost his job, career, reputation and who knows what else plus a 3k fine. Yes he did wrong and he should be punished but he isn’t exactly getting off lightly
@Nick Allen: exactly what the Garda in question did
@billy Dorney:
Not sure what you are saying ?
@Nick Allen: then read the text again,Mr slowwwwww,and then read the article,then maybe,just maybe,the two might marry in your head(nearly wrote brain)and you might, just might understand.
@Billy Roll: smile
@Billy Roll: rock-a-billy
He made a couple of mistakes but the bigger mistake was resigning.
And 92% have confidence in the Gardaí… lol.
Well he won’t be doing it again!
Why isn’t the comments disabled??? Typical journal
@George McCarthy: I think it’s because the judgement has already been made, so the comments can’t influence the case. Why do you think comments should be disabled?
*have
super news
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