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Paul Murphy Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

Paul Murphy's comments about gardaí to be referred to Oireachtas committee

The Solidarity TD has accused gardaí of lying under oath during the recent Jobstown trial.

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”.

Read: As it Happened: Paul Murphy criticised Varadkar for comparing Jobstown protest to ‘a scene from Lord of the Flies’

Read: Jobstown protest: TD Paul Murphy and 5 others found not guilty

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54 Comments
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    Mute P C
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:19 PM

    Good. Murphy was rightly slapped down by Leo Varadkar yesterday.

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    Mute Robert Emmett Birrell
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:26 PM

    @P C: so the gardai didn’t lie under oath?

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    Mute jason bourne
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:30 PM

    @Robert Emmett Birrell: nope

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    Mute TheHeathen
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:32 PM

    @Robert Emmett Birrell: And Leo saying that the political policing of a blogger was a personal matter. Yet he still wants to censor the Internet because of all the pressure they are under. Lies and abuse and bullying if it’s online … except if it’s from RTE or Fianna Fail Gael.

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    Mute jason bourne
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:37 PM

    @TonyFantozi: No sir they did not

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    Mute Michael Bride
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:37 PM

    @P C: Really? You mean Varadkar stuck to a script and struck an ‘assertive pose’ while peddling disinformation, again, about events on the day? BTW, Lyin’ Leo used precisely the same wording- ‘keep her all night’- that was disproved by video evidence when said by 3 gardai in court, and he did it in the chamber-has that been referred to the committee?!

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    Mute SteveW
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:41 PM

    The veil had come down. We now live in a society where you can be brought to trial for political reasons. A society where it’s becoming acceptable for guards to obviously lie under oath and for our unelected leader not only to tacitly condone it but to attack the people who are victims of this sick system. This country is rotten to the core.

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    Mute MK76
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:46 PM

    LLA only looking for some further political gain out of this. Quelle surprise.

    The facts of the matter are they were accused of something, tried in front of a jury of their peers and found not guilty. End of.

    Everything else like whether the charge was OTT, questions re the garda testimony and whether the social media campaign by the LLA was in contempt of court is all a matter of OPINION.

    IMO, Murphy et al are not victims, rather went through due process here. The only victims here were those who were subjected to intimidation and vile abuse, by an angry mob.

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    Mute Ciarán Masterson
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    Jul 13th 2017, 4:03 PM

    @Robert Emmett Birrell:

    The inconsistency between the helicopter camera footage and the Garda testimony is not proof of perjury. It is possible that gardaí on the ground said what they incorrectly but honestly believed they saw. In incidents involving tension and violence, it is possible for honest mistakes to be made by witnesses – whether they are police officers or members of the public. That is what happened in the aftermath of the Stockwell incident of July 2005.

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    Mute Dub_Right
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:20 PM

    You can be guaranteed if the same comments were made by an FG or FF TD they’d just move along, nothing to be seen…!
    The elites/establishment in the Dail hate the likes of Murphy, Clare Daly, Mick Wallace etc….

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    Mute Mistawez
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:28 PM

    @Dub_Right: Same way they let Kenny waffle on, finger wagging and making allegations about anybody that questions him, while hassle opposition about time keeping.

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    Mute Dub_Right
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:30 PM

    @Mistawez: And the Elites in the Dail want to reduce the speaking time of the smaller groups within the dail.. And yet people still vote for these big parties..

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    Mute j4VEpUO8
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:41 PM

    @Mistawez: Yup, hence why Sean Barrett was given a (job for the boys) when he lost his seat.

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    Mute tomeenoldstock
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:51 PM

    @Dub_Right: I think Cohen was writing about Murphy, Daly,Wallace etc and their political ideals when he wrote
    “I saw a beggar leaning on his wooden crutch,
    he said to me, “You must not ask for so much.”
    And a pretty woman leaning in her darkened door,
    she cried to me, “Hey, why not ask for more?”

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    Mute Dave keeley
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:19 PM

    Clown has lost run of himself, rabble rouser for thugs is not leadership, probably pissed not to be convicted and denied martyrdom.

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    Mute P C
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:21 PM

    @Dave keeley: I agree. Then he would be saying that there is a massive state sponsored conspiracy against him. Although he is saying that anyway. He has lost all credibility.

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    Mute Robert Emmett Birrell
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:29 PM

    @Dave keeley: i have little time for Murphy or his ideals, however, unless you are dumb or just willfully ignorant, you would see that this trial was a hatchet job, politically motivated and the gardai obviously lied under oath.

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    Mute Philip Howlin
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:37 PM

    It appears Deputy Murphy was claiming €80.00 per day expenses while protestingand in court representing working class. SOLIDARITY and PEOPLE BEFORE PROFIT rings very hollow, then empty tin cans make most noise.

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    Mute Dub_Right
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:45 PM

    @Philip Howlin: To claim allowances, TDs must verify their attendance at Leinster House by either electronically fobbing in with a tag at a number of points or by signing an attendance book. So if he was off protesting then he won’t get paid for being in the dail…

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    Mute TheHeathen
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:47 PM

    @Philip Howlin: Could you put up a link for that? It would be an interesting read.

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    Mute Togs
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:49 PM

    @Philip Howlin: and with all his wealth he was still claiming legal aid.. The poor divil..

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    Mute Atheos Euripides
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:43 PM

    I’m indifferent about Murphy, but he’s right, Gardaí are just as capable of lying as any of the rest of us.

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    Mute Anthony Halpin
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:46 PM

    @Atheos Euripides: But the consequences are much more serious.

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    Mute Gerry Murphy
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:38 PM

    I am sick to the teeth of Paul Murphy, Can someone shut him up and get on with the real issues of the day

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    Mute TheHeathen
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:41 PM

    @Gerry Murphy: Yes like Garda corruption maybe?

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    Mute The Risen
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:42 PM

    @Gerry Murphy: There was an attempt to shut him up by the most dubious and despicable means possible.

    Guess you’re fine with that

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    Mute Paul Shepherd
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:52 PM

    @Gerry Murphy: and deny the poor luvy his moment in the sun…..not to mention the adulation of his rent a mob!!!

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    Mute Eddie Byrne
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:29 PM

    Why did the judge tell the jury just to rely on the video evidence also publish the trial transcripts and let the rest of us compare each of the garda evidence statements wording. That way any comparisons in each statement would show up.

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    Mute @mdmak33
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:27 PM

    Investigation needed into gda perjury,not any of the defendants.this country gets more rotten by the day.

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    Mute Noel
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    Jul 13th 2017, 3:43 PM

    Be careful out there paul keep an eye over your shoulder

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