Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE GOVERNMENT WILL establish a Tribunal of Inquiry into an alleged smear campaign against whistleblower Maurice McCabe.
Enda Kenny confirmed the public inquiry this afternoon following a meeting of Cabinet.
It will look at the central question: “Was there a deliberate smear campaign waged on Maurice McCabe?”
We’ll continue to bring you all the news from Leinster House and Garda HQ over the coming hours.
Stay with us.
Good afternoon.
There has been a flurry of meetings around Kildare Street this morning as the government scrambles a full response to allegations of a smear campaign against whistleblower Maurice McCabe by senior gardaí.
Sinéad O’Carroll here to take you through the next few hours, with news from our political reporter Christina Finn who is embedded in Leinster House.
Enda Kenny is due in the Dáil for his usual Leaders’ Questions slot at 2pm.
There, he will be quizzed by Micheál Martin (who he has already met today) and Gerry Adams, among others.
However, there has already been a delay to the schedule with a Dáil Business Committee meeting postponed to 1.30pm because Cabinet are still meeting.
It now seems definite that a public inquiry (also known by that dreaded term – Tribunal) will be held.
It is what Maurice McCabe – the man at the centre of this entire scandal and the man who has suffered the most because of it – wants, and it is also what Opposition parties have called for.
Kenny has little choice, it seems, but to grant their wishes.
We asked our readers today what they would like to see happen – and the response has been an overwhelming agreement.
Christina has this synopsis from Kenny and Martin’s meeting this morning:
A public inquiry expected to be accepted by Fine Gael. Fianna Fáil made it clear that one is needed and Martin made that point to the Taoiseach.
Martin also met with Maurice McCabe and his wife last night and told the couple they would be calling for a public inquiry now.
According to my sources, he also made the point to Kenny about how ‘dismally’ the government has handled this entire situation.
The party has also submitted what it would like the terms of reference of any inquiry to be – but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will be used by the government.
It is not clear if the terms will be widened to include other whistleblowers or if it will stick to the circumstances around the treatment of McCabe.
As we entered into this week, a general election seemed likely but that threat now seems to have lessened.
All ministers will emerge with their jobs in tact from today’s Cabinet meeting and Sinn Féin’s vote of no confidence should fail tomorrow.
McCabe’s statement yesterday did not call for heads to roll – but more for the truth over what he has endured over the past eight years to be put on public record as soon as possible. Here’s a key part of his statement – issued through solicitor’s yesterday.
What we know today…
After Enda Kenny at 2pm, Children’s Minister Katherine Zappone will face questions from her Opposition colleagues. She’s probably not relishing the timing of that prospect.
The Ceann Comhairle starts off the session in a light-hearted manner with a Valentine’s Day greeting after the usual prayer.
Micheál Martin picks up and says he hopes there won’t be a massacre.
We then get to the serious business…
Martin begins, of course, with his meeting with Maurice and Lorraine McCabe last night. He talks about the ‘casual approach to a monumental false report’ by Tusla, that was ‘hanging around in garda stations without it being corrected’.
He calls for a public tribunal of inquiry.
“The kitchen sink thrown at them” by the garda’s legal team is how Martin describes how McCabe was treated at the private Commission of Investigation led by Kevin O’Higgins.
In no way do they want to be involved in anything similar again, adds Martin.
Enda Kenny confirms that the government ‘agreed in principle’ to set up a Tribunal of Inquiry under the 1921 Act.
“Was there an organised smear campaign against Garda McCabe by senior gardaí?” will be the central question.
“When we proceed down the road of having a tribunal of inquiry under 1921 act, we have to be very clear that it is right down the middle in respect of everybody,” Kenny said.
He says it is very important that all main players go into the probe with a presumption of innocence.
“People should be very careful with regard to this.”
Enda Kenny in a minor concession says:
“I might say mea culpa here- I am guilty here of not giving accurate information,” he says in relation to who told him about Zappone’s meeting with McCabe.
“I understood that she had asked me,” he continues, explaining it was her office who actually informed him.
Again, speaking about Zappone’s meeting with McCabe, Kenny says that she did not “indicate details” of it with him.
“Minister Zappone is clear that the discussions she had with McCabe were of a confidential nature. They were not in the public domain at the time.”
The Taoiseach gets into argy-bargy with Gerry Adams, Kenny calls the Sinn Féin leader a ‘hypocrite’.
He gets very animated in telling Adams that a number of people ‘vehemently’ deny that there was a smear campaign waged on McCabe. He says for this reason, it is imperative that the Tribunal was ‘set up in Cabinet’s wisdom’ to ensure it will be fair to everybody involved.
Paul Murphy:
You’re well-known for having a casual relationship with the truth.
The AAA-PBP TD says Kenny’s ‘mea culpa’ goes beyond what the Taoiseach has he has conceded.
He claims that his original statement about Zappone’s meeting with McCabe was erroneous and misleading.
He indicates his position as Taoiseach is untenable.
“It matters.”
Murphy says that his party are in favour of a Tribunal but says that it is not necessary to have Maurice McCabe’s questions answered. Here are the questions, the McCabes want the truth about:
To move away from Leinster House for a minute, Fine Gael’s Brian Hayes has given this interesting response to EuroParl radio.
“What is behind this is bad practice, a culture of secrecy, a culture of looking after their own, I think the guards have to be held accountable for that and I think the wider issue now is the reforms that every government has spoke about in the last decade are so actually are put in place by the Commissioner to make sure the public confidence in the force remains,” he said.
Clearly the government could have handled this an awful lot better but we’ve seen in Irish politics over the years these things happen and how governments respond often becomes a bigger story than actually the substance of the story itself.
“It’s not a case of a few bad apples… The barrell is evidently rotten,” continues Murphy in the Chamber about the gardaí.
He says it is chilling what has been revealed in recent days.
He is also concerned about the misinformation from government benches.
“Facts are stubborn things. They can’t exist in two different states at the same time,” he notes, citing the different stories from Zappone and Kenny about her meeting with McCabe and Jim O’Callaghan and the Tánaiste’s recollections of a conversation about the same issue.
Mick Wallace is up now.
He says a criminal investigation must run in parallel with the Tribunal, led by external investigators from outside the country.
“A lot of bad things have happened,” he notes.
Asking about Nóirín O’Sullivan’s presumption of innocence, he says that Maurice McCabe was treated as ‘guilty’ for years.
“Are they all liars?” he asks of a list of whistleblowers which includes McCabe, Keith Harrison and Nick Keogh.
If she genuinely didn’t know how whistleblowers were treated, she’s not fit for the job anyway if she didn’t know what was going on in the force.
Wallace decides to quote whistleblower David Taylor, a former press officer in An Garda Síochána who said:
Everybody in headquarters knew about the campaign against Maurice McCabe.
He also reiterates the story of Taylor telling both former Commissioner Martin Callinan and O’Sullivan about the journalist who had a ‘damaging’ story about McCabe after visiting the family allegedly at the centre of the false accusation of sex abuse.
He said that Callinan texted Taylor back after he told him the news. Wallace says O’Sullivan ‘rang him for a good chat’.
Leaders’ Questions concludes with the Taoiseach calling for support for the Tribunal of Inquiry.
There are still a lot of unknowns about the Tribunal – who, when, how much, how long are all pertinent questions right now.
Fianna Fáil already has its demands about terms of reference, and Fine Gael seem concerned that a presumption of innocence will be central to its ethos.
We’ll continue to bring you reaction and details as we get them.
Two people that Enda says ‘vehemently deny’ there was an organised smear campaign against Maurice McCabe and who will be central to any Tribunal will be current garda commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan and her predecessor Martin Callinan.
Ireland is *very* familiar with Tribunals (how do you respond to the words Mahon and Moriarty?) but here’s a rundown of what powers they have:
According to the Taoiseach’s Department:
So, after a bit of kerfuffle in the chamber about the order of business, it looks like Zappone will take questions as planned at 3.45pm.
According to our reporter Christina Finn, there may also be statements from the Taoiseach and Tánaiste later.
BREAKING:
Whistleblower Keith Harrison has issued a statement through his solicitor to “demand” that his case is included in any inquiry to be held by the “political establishment”.
More to follow…
We’ll have more on this a bit later…
Christina Finn with you now from down in Leinster House. It’s been an interesting day…
Children’s Minister Katherine Zappone is now in the Dáil chamber to take questions about her department.
Fianna Fáil’s Ann Rabbitte is the first to address to Zappone. She says it would be remiss of her not to mention what has been going on in relation to the McCabe affair and the false allegations contained in a Tusla file.
However, she says the public need to understand that the questions being put to the minister now were submitted in advance of last week’s RTÉ programme.
She urges Zappone to come before the House to give answers.
This is the explanation Minister Zappone gave yesterday:
Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh O’Laoghaire also urges the minister to come before the House to make a statement in relation to the Tusla file. Zappone acknowledges his comments and says she is happy to cooperate with whatever decision the business committee make in relation to ministers making statements to the chamber. (The Dáil business committee were expected to meet at 4pm to work out the schedule for the rest of the day and decide if ministers should come before the Dáil to answer questions in relation to the handling of the McCabe case).
Social Democrat’s Róisín Shortall says “we all want to ask questions on behalf of the public”.
In light of whistleblower Keith Harrison now issuing a statement through his solicitor demanding his case is included in any inquiry, Labour’s Alan Kelly is now calling for the same.
Read more about the case of a second whistleblower, the Tusla connection and demands for a wider scope for any Tribunal….
There is a lot of talk now about the Tribunal’s terms of reference which the government is hoping to finalise over the next couple of days.
As we mentioned earlier, Fianna Fáil’s Jim O’Callaghan already has some he prepared earlier.
EXTRA DÁIL TIME:
The government has decided to rejig the Dáil schedule for this evening to allow for further statements on the establishment of a Tribunal from 6pm.
The Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister for Children will all speak for 10 minutes.
Enda Kenny is back up in the Dáil and is clarifying what was shared between himself and his Children’s Minister around her meeting with Maurice McCabe.
He reiterates that he was informed by officials in his office that Katherine Zappone intended to meet with the whistleblower.
And then last Tuesday, she told him before Cabinet that she had met with him and his wife Lorraine.
“However, Minister Zappone did not divulge these very serious details…” he continued.
“That was absolutely the correct course of action.”
Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald is up now…
She repeats much of what she has been saying in the past week – that when the matter was previously before government, she had no knowledge of the Tusla matter; that she was taken aback and disturbed by Prime Time revelations last Thursday; and that Justice Charleton believed the terms of reference for the originally planned Commission of Investigation would have been sufficient to investigate the entire McCabe scandal.
And now for Katherine Zappone…
She says that the McCabes have her full support.
She said the Tusla file she was showed by them was shocking. On Friday, 27 January Tusla gave her a chronological timeline of what had happened in this case. She forwarded that to the McCabes on Saturday, 28 January.
Zappone said she wanted to ensure that none of her actions as a Minister would harm the McCabes even further.
She also confirmed that Tusla has deleted all electronic files relating to McCabe and his family. There is a paper file still in existence – for use for a review and for the Tribunal. It is under lock and key, as requested by Maurice McCabe.
A big question…
Katherine Zappone: “The question remains whether I should have spoken up at Cabinet?”
She says “in order to bring clarity”, she accepts that some colleagues would have preferred her to brief them on the meeting she had with the McCabes.
“I will learn from that,” she added, but says she would prefer to have a mechanism to deal with sensitive information.
She says she did not want to cause any further stress on the McCabe family and that she believed Tusla would be included in the terms of reference of the Commission of Investigation.
Basically, she says she thought she was doing the right thing and refutes claims that she was being politically naive.
Here’s more of the Tánaiste’s statement tonight…
On Tusla:
“Suggestions have been made that I had knowledge of TUSLA records at the time the matter was before Government, which would have required me to amend the terms of reference. As I have repeatedly stated that is not the case.
And I was as taken aback at – and disturbed – at watching the revelations about TUSLA that were aired last Thursday as anyone else. Clearly very serious issues have arisen.
“Throughout my entire career I have worked to ensure that cases of child sex abuse are not kept hidden and are dealt with openly and properly.”
On that chat with Fianna Fáil’s Justice spokesperson:
“My engagement with Deputy Jim O’Callaghan last Wednesday was constructive
throughout and entirely focussed on ensuring that a commission of investigation would establish the full truth. I accept that each of our positions on this aspect of the discussion are genuinely held. And I acknowledge very much that is this spirit in which Deputy O’Callaghan has worked.
“I regret that differences have arisen between the two of us as to what exactly was said. I have always found the Deputy honourable and I do know he made very helpful suggestions about changes that might be made to the terms of reference – which, indeed, I accepted in substance.
On misleading the Dáil:
“As I have already said Minister Zappone telephoned me on the 25 January to say that she was meeting with Sgt McCabe later that day. I have also said that I respected the integrity of that meeting between her and the McCabes. I know as a former Minister for Children and Youth Affairs how sensitive some of the matters in that portfolio.
“I welcome the fact that there has been a full apology by Tusla and that Minister Zappone is to establish a statutory HIQA inquiry into the terrible issues that have arisen there.
“There is no question of me having misled the Dáil in any way in what I had to say here last Thursday.”
On McCabe’s statement:
“Deputies have referred to a series of questions in the McCabe’s statement yesterday.
“In particular, there are a series of six indented questions relating to contacts between the Gardaí and others relating to the false rape offence allegation. My department is not involved in garda operational matters and would not have details like that in our records.
“They are, of course, matters that will be dealt with fully by any inquiry and this gives rise to a difficulty with the suggestion it is simply a matter of asking the Garda Commissioner to ask the gardaí involved.
“I have not had a chance to get detailed formal advice on this from the Attorney General but there are clearly implications for the rights of the people involved. To say, on the one hand, we are going to establish an inquiry into what you did, but in the meantime, we want you to provide answers which we need to give to a person who will be party to that inquiry clearly is fraught.
“Of course, I understand well the concerns which people have expressed about the treatment of Maurice McCabe. But it would be a great pity for people here to try to rectify one injustice by causing others. Whatever anger people might feel, in this country we do not set up tribunals of inquiry simply to confirm what people already believe. We set them up to look at all the evidence, hear all sides, and establish what the truth is.
“We have to be careful not to rush to judgment. And above all everyone is entitled to basic, fair procedures enshrined in our Constitution. I am not prepared to ignore that and engage in a rush to judgement, which ignores anyone’s fundamental human rights.
“We have to investigate matters fully, but it must be fairly too. I cannot uphold the integrity of the office to which I have been honoured to be appointed by setting at nought the rights of others. Some deputies might find that unsatisfactory but I cannot yield on that point.”
Fitzgerald in a long answer says that “at no time did he mention Tusla”
“I disagree with you. I referred to Tusla in the conversation with you,” responds O’Callaghan.
Is it credible that a Justice Minister should agree to amend terms of reference based upon a television programme and wouldn’t ask what the programme was about?
Brendan Howlin now raises the point about Kenny saying he met Zappone before she met the McCabes, when he did not.
He asks why he didn’t bring up the issue of Tusla at the Cabinet meeting last week.
“I actually told the truth in the House here,” says the Taoiseach.
He says a lot of things come his way on an average day.
Enda now tells the Dáil that the discussion before Cabinet with Minister Zappone, she did mention the false allegations of sexual abuse against McCabe.
The Taoiseach says she did not make me aware of the file or the content of the discussions she had with the McCabes.
Brendan Howlin tells the Tánaiste that both her story and Jim O’Callaghan’s story cannot be true.
Paul Murphy says we have three versions of the story today. He says that first Kenny said he had discussed false allegations in regards to Tusla with Zappone.
Murphy then states that Kenny told the Dáil he did not have prior information to the Cabinet meeting.
Murphy then states that Zappone says false allegations regarding sexual abuse was raised with the Taoiseach. He wants know which statement is accurate.
The Taoiseach says he was not aware of any of the details of the discussions Zappone had with the McCabes and he reiterates again that he did not know the information contained in the Tusla file.
Kenny states again that Zappone told him that she had met the McCabes and that they had discussed false allegations of sexual abuse that had been sent Tusla.
Did you tell Zappone that Tusla would be in included in the terms of reference, asks Ruth Coppinger.
“Yes I said these would be included in the terms of reference,” said the Taoiseach.
Mick Wallace is up now and says he thinks Zappone is being honest in the Dáil this evening.
Clare Daly says Minister Zappone has acted “efficiently” “sensitively” and “appropriately” this evening. She has been “imminently believable” says Daly.
“Yours has’t been the same it hasn’t been as humble.”
“Do you honestly expect us believe you think it [the meeting between Zappone and the McCabes] might be over a personal matter and that you wouldn’t have an interest in it,” Daly asks the Minister for Justice.
“It is not credible.”
“There is a huge problem that we cannot believe the word of the Minister for Justice.”
She claims the allegations of sexual abuse was contained in the protected disclosure that the minister had in her hands.
“I have never ever misled the Dáil,” says the Tánaiste. Zappone says she has never misled the Dáil.
“When did he first become aware of scurrilous rumours against McCabe,” asks Róisin Shortall.
She wants to raise a point of order as she says the Taoiseach is refusing to answer her question.
“After the Prime Time programme, things became very clear indeed,” says Kenny.
She says he has not answered the question.
He repeats what he said on the radio at the weekene – that he does not deal in rumour or hearsay, only fact.
So, again, he refuses to acknowledge if he was made aware of the rumours against Maurice McCabe prior to the RTÉ programme.
Micheál Martin says there is something “very odd” about all of this. He is speaking about the dealings with the gardaí, the counsellor and Tusla and the file that was created which contained the false allegations against McCabe.
He says the creation of the false file which contained the allegations “begs a lot of questions” about how the files were created.
Tánaiste says she thinks he is asking questions that are going to be the essence of what will be the inquiry.
Kenny tells the Dáil that it has now spent two hours discussing issues, and that it would have been well spent discussing the establishment of the public inquiry.
He said he would be “much happier” talking about the decision made today to have a public inquiry.
Zappone says she was aware of the RTÉ programme as it was being aired. She says she was not aware it prior to being broadcast.
Mary Lou McDonald is up now and she says they have made progress this evening.
I asked of your stated knowledge of other state agencies in relation to McCabe, she tells the Tánaiste.
McDonald says the Dáil was misled last week.
Frances Fitzgerald is very exercised in her response.
“Your party thrives on rushing to judgement.
“You may not believe me but that is what happened.
“I did not know about the Tusla involvement.”
Enda Kenny again states that he was told by Zappone the discussion she had with the McCabes centred around false allegations of a sexual nature involving McCabe
These matters were covered in the terms of reference because Tusla was covered in that, maintains the Taoiseach.
The judge was happy that all of the issues he saw on the RTÉ programme were included in the terms of reference, says Kenny.
More heated scenes in the Dáil, even at this late hour.
Sinn Féin’s Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin demands to know when the Taoiseach first became aware of the rumours against McCabe.
Kenny says he only became aware of them after the Prime Time programme.
Labour’s Alan Kelly raised the issue of other whistleblowers, particularly that of Keith Harrison.
Opposition TDs, including Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty, have been trying to make this point to the Taoiseach all evening.
In a heated exchange with the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach, Fianna Fáil’s John McGuinness tells the Dáil:
Why is it that we cannot admit, anyone that wanted to stop and listen in this House, anyone that supported him [Maurice McCabe... was told] that he was a sex abuser, that he abused people sexually.
He says that those that supported him were fed that “innuendo”.
“How many in this House knew about the allegations that were being made?”
Speaking about when he appeared before the Public Accounts Committee he said “members in this House” wanted to prevent it.
“We have ignored Maurice McCabe and the other Maurice McCabes that exist out there.”
McGuinness says that the culture that has “sent all of those people [whistleblowers] out sick, we cannot ignore”.
“How many people in this government knew about those rumours, even if it was rumour, all of us in this House knew what was going on.”
Speaking to Kenny and Fitzgerlad, McGuinness states: “You knew a long time ago about the accusations against Maurice McCabe – everyone knew.”
“It was a deliberate attempt to undermine Maurice McCabe.”
“Now you have been put in the spotlight and you can’t cover it up anymore.”
Kenny is being asked again about when he first became aware of the allegations against McCabe. Again, the Taoiseach says he only became aware after the RTÉ programme.
Mattie McGrath is now taking issue with Enda Kenny wearing a headphone in the Dáil. “Is it the man on the moon you are listening to there?”
“You can be rest assured that it is you I am listening to,” says Kenny, who adds that he has had to take the headphone out now. “You’ve blown the head off me,” says the Taoiseach.
McGrath says he has no faith in Tusla.
Quite the politically charged day here in Leinster House.
Meanwhile, on top of everything else, Enda Kenny broke the rules today.
More tomorrow for this government which has come close to the brink today.
Tomorrow they are facing a motion of no confidence.
Enda Kenny is also expected to give a significant speech about Brexit tomorrow, which will be followed by the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party meeting, which could prove interesting given that pressure is now mounting on Kenny’s leadership.
Join us back here tomorrow…
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
This government is finished, stick a fork in them.
Dont forget FF are in power currently also. they could have brought govt down but their party interests always first
A pitchfork
Somebody better make sure the Taoiseach knows about the announcement!!!
@John Smith: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
@John Smith: and after the next election if the polls are to go by we’ll have FF back in power. Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeee great choice …………………… NOT
@John Smith: Unfortunately it won’t be. there’ll be a tribunal lasting 15 years, no conclusions and everyone keeps their job. That’s the way it’s always been. No reason to think there’ll be a change
Anne Marie that is why O’Sullivan should be forced out now. The politicians involved will be resigned to the back benches in a few months but she could go on in her job for years.
A number of people ‘vehemently’ deny that the earth is round and insist it’s flat, nobody else believes those fools either…
@Jed I. Knight: I don’t believe the vehement deniers. How could anyone admit to such misconduct.
The Bart Simpson defences will get a lot of use.
@Anne Marie Devlin:
Fully agree, and if by some chance if there’s is a conclusion, Morris here”s a cheque and to those who caused the problem, fortunately their covered under legislation so they”ll get their full entitlement, index linked pension and golden handshake, and we wait until it all starts all over again.
I’m hopeful that the Tribunal will give Sergeant McCabe long awaited vindication and show Callinan and O’Sullivan for what they really are. That alone will be beneficial.
Now is the time for any other guard with information on this to step forward. You will never have a better time to do it.
@Joe Travers: as long as within the Terms of Reference.
Relax there Tony, take a breath, we get it. You don’t have to comment on every comment on this article
@Skip Goose: awfully kind of you.
@Tony Daly: You can add Paul Williams to that list. What a liar, right up there with O’Sullivan and Callinan, he is embroiled in this, he should be investigated and behind bars, a proper grade A gutter journalist.
They’ve only said that they are setup an inquiry. That means very little until a Judge is assigned to led it.
And now we hear Judge Charleton may not be able to chair inquiry, you just cannot make this BS up
Another waste of taxpayer money… A tribunal with no legal ramifications or accountability at the end of it. This country is a joke.
Enda couldn’t even give the same story in the dail today. He gave completely different answers to Martin than he did to Paul Murphy about the same question.. unbelievable .
https://mobile.twitter.com/gavreilly/status/831521106221740033
@watersedge: indeed. Paul Williams was one of the tools used.
@Jane. I would go one further. Kenny, Fitzgerald and zappone to go. Just ask yourself where Michael Lowry is now.
Name a successful tribunal. Fodder for lawyers
Why is Enda Kenny wearing an earpiece in the Dail? Who is speaking into his ear? Garda HQ?
You maybe correct but I think they are enjoying having FG like a pig slowly cooking on a spit in fact I’m rather enjoying the party of law and order being dismantled
@Rory: McCracken Tribunal.
Yet another tribunal, which will cost god knows what and with no prosecutorial power
@RMcG: Exposure of the truth and the opprobrium of the public are powerful.
@Tony Daly: agreed but for all the money spent on tribunals in Ireland, I’d like to actually see some of them jailed and pay the price for their actions.
@RMcG: Ohhh, same here, I feel exactly the same but the forensic evidence for as criminal trial is long gone.
@RMcG: that surely lands squarely on this government.. where is Moriarty? Whats taking DPP so long ? Why no push from the government on that?
@LITTLEONE: DOB.
shinnerbot fake outrage is very amusing to say the least
@Littleone, why is there silence from everybody on Moriarty ? You’d expect it from the bought and paid for fg and ff but what about the rest ?
@GCLPhD: there hasn’t been silence from everyone else. It was brought up time and again in the dail by TDs.. especially considering the statue of limitations was running down..
‘Smear campaign by Senior Gardai’ ….only!?!??!?!?!?!!?!?!?! There has obviously been political interference also with state agencies & possibly media also
@Nigel O’Neill: exactly.
Who directed Callinan, O’Sullivan, HSE, TUSLA and parts of the media?
@RMcG: That’s because a Tribunal is largely about ascertaining the facts. Using this system you can compel people to provide information. You cannot have a prosecutorial Tribunal. Without knowing the facts what would they be prosecuting and whom? Prosecutions follow evidence. Based on the evidence you decide to prosecute someone or some group of someones assuming of course that you believe that the criminal law has actually been broken. To do so you must believe you can prove your case beyond any reasonable doubt. At the moment we have facts all over the place and contradictions in evidence. So a Tribunal is probably a necessary move if the terms of reference are not set so broadly that it carries on for the next ten years. A narrow and focused terms of reference and just get on with it. There will be high fives in the Law Library tonight.
Finally, prosecutions can only take place in the Criminal Courts and not before Tribunals.
@John R: an excellent explanation. Tribunals are inquisitorial processes.
Criminal trials are adversarial highly specific.
@harry barry…if you are not outraged at this then you are a big part of the problem in this country which is too many idiots accept corruption by the political elite, some even defend it
@RMcG: Not only does it not have the power to prosecute, it taints any evidence presented to it by rendering it inadmissible in a proper criminal trial.
@Tom Sullivan: legally incorrect.
Turning 40 this year, should have another few decades left in me, I genuinely hope I live to see ff/fg being being a bad memory
This fake account is just expressing its tiredness on every comment. Surely the journal will delete this troll?
What powers will it have? Extremely limited…Kenny and Martin meeting this morning to cobble together some plan to keep the circus on the road..we are not going to get satisfaction from this public enquiry as it’s being controlled by a corrupt regime.
@Tony Skillington: Commissioner O’Sullivan is already fully lawyered up and at the expense of the public purse. She has an unlimited budget.
Sergeant McCabe a father of 5 will have to try to find the money unless the State will voluntarily fund him.
Gofund.?lots of people should support McCabe financially.
@Dave Sherman: thank you. Excellent idea. I would be willing to contribute.
@Tony Daly: Any solicitor or barrister worth their salt will be queuing up to represent McCabe. Hes in for an a all expenses paid, huge payout, seven figures!! This wont be stopped here othetwise. If Government/commisioner attempt to do so, this will go to Europe!
@Lord Clanricarde: His team legal is already selected but the legal costs are massive and need to be paid on a periodic basis.
@Tony Skillington: “What powers will it have? Extremely limited” It will have the same powers as the High Court? Is that not sufficient? But this is a fact finding exercise and not a criminal prosecution. And the Terms of Reference need to be narrowly construed and focused. So many Tribunals have run on for years because the Terms of Reference were too broad and changed once or more frequently during the course of the Tribunal. So focus on what we all want to know and keep it at that.
@John R: Tribunals are invested with the powers of the High Cointreau under the 1921 Act, as amended.
@Tony Daly: High Court.
@Dave Sherman: Dave, you are a very decent person to make that suggestion, I will let him know, the state will cover all of his costs.
So now a public tribunal forestalls any how of a criminal investigation, protects NOS in her roll as commissioner and puts a block on any further media or commentary on this issue. See ye all in 5/6 yet as and another €40 million later.
@M Bowe: NOS would have been able to bobble any criminal investigation anyway.
This is the best of a bad outcome
“bobble” should be “nobble”.
While all the parties are getting on the bandwagon now, only for Mick Wallace and Claire Daly, Maurice McCabe would never have got a hearing. What a squalid incestuous cess pool of guards, press and politicians this country is.
Even at this stage the govt has been dragged kicking and screaming just to the point of acknowledging that there is a problem, when the dogs in the street know this for over 10 years !
@Patrick James Walsh: That is more than fair comment.
Wallace and Daly made targets of themselves.
I wonder what remit /power the public inquiry will have?
@Finn Bowe: Hopefully narrow and focused and along the lines sought by Sergeant McCabe
@Finn Bowe: The same remit the other tribunals/thinly-veiled coverups have had in the past.
any idea if Paul Williams ever issued an apology about his role in all this?
@Enda Kennny: He attacked Sergeant MCabe yesterday for not accepting the HSE apology.
Paul Williams is still hard at work trying to find dirt on Sergeant McCabe, all of course motivated by pure public interest.
@Tony Daly: ha ha of course he is.
@Enda Kennny: Williams is after all de “tugs”
Will Paul Williams be doing an “special investigative report” on his role in this.. complete with sinister music every time his face is shown?
@James: he wants to play a stool pigeon.
It’s not a matter of this government (and believe me I have absolutely no time for FG). The public need to realise that it’s all a game of musical chairs in how this country is run, with the music supplied by an endless stream of soundbites attacking or defending this organisation, that policy, this institution, that minister, this TD, etc. Since this keeps happening and the responsible keep weaseling out of it all, what does that say about the Irish public……we are the real asses. At least the TD/Senator gombeens are committed full time to self-advancement and bringing about the kind of society, economy and environment they will prosper in. We don’t get into 2nd gear.
@David A. Murray: Spot on, at least half of the Irish public accept corruption are a normal and accepted part of being governed by the civil war parties. How else can you explain FF/FG still having 50% of the vote between them according to the latest polls. Shame on anybody who continues to Vote FF/FG, your grandchildren/great grandchildren will have to live with the consequences!
@Super Ted: FF and FG will look after you if you are inside the tent.
Don’t forget Liebour they are as much to blame the weasels.
@David A. Murray: People use the term corruption too loosely on this site. So loosely it has become meaningless. Everything is not about corruption. A great deal is simply about the absence of values and ethics and organisations with cultures which are out of step with the times. Such an absence can lead to behavior which is not grounded in any moral vision or values. And such behavior is inevitably damaging to society. An Garda Siochána has become such an organisation and there is now a need for a new organisation to be created which focuses entirely on good policing aligned with good values and open communication. The national security function should be separated from the policing function and put in a separate agency along with military intelligence. The national security and policing mindsets are not good bed fellows.
@John R: corruption has a wide and political sense where legal, political and government powers are used for ulterior and dishonest purposes. It is not just about bribery.
Tony,John,
It really depends how you define corruption.
Corruption in Ireland is more about favours and who you know than cash. It is embedded in all our public services.
Who hasn’t heard a story about someone getting stopped after a few drinks, dropping the sargents name and getting off scott free. This is not only common but expected in rural ireland by those with the right contacts.
The pub the guards drink in being allowed break closing time laws.
Minor Crimes commited by someone from a “good family” going no further after a chat with the superintendant.
The problem in this country is everyone wants strict rules which are applied rigidly except to themselves.
Even ming got some penalty points quashed ffs.
Listening to that dirty excrement Kenny and his filthy lies is an abomination
@Blue MARIGOLD: it is disgusting, isn’t it?
Mick Wallace introducing some realism here. When you hear the litany of abuses of power within the system going back through the years it really is shocking.
@Emmet O’Keeffe: Yes, he is accurately setting the context and background.
Only a foolish knave would deny the existence and reality of a smear campaign.
What will the terms of reference be? Are we only dealing with this latest scandal or will it also include Callinan and Shatter scandal too?
@Les Behan: Callinan and Shatter are part of this scandal
@Tony Daly: I know Tony but knowing this shower as well as we do it’s not beyond the realms of possibility for Callinan/Shatter’s part to be excluded in the terms of reference. Fine Gael will claim that is a separate issue, when as you just pointed out it is not.
@Les Behan: It stated on Callinan’s watch and when the current Commissioner was his facilitator. Its all part of the same story of nearly 10 years of victimising a decent and noble fellow.
@Les Behan: I wish that you were wrong but sadly you are right to be sceptical.
@Les Behan: The surest way to achieve nothing is to extend the Tribunal of Enquiry to anything and everything. Shatter has been investigated every which way and has largely been exonerated. Focus the Tribunal on what we really wish to know or you’ll end up with another 10 years investigation costing a €100 million.
@John R: we need to know who was behind the smear campaign at a political level.
@John R: Its a catch 22. Restrict the scope and the report is incomplete, don’t restrict the scope and the whole lot comes out. It will last 50 years. There should be no tribunal. Just don’t vote any more
It seems the Soc Dems motion due to be voted on this week forced the government to pull the finger out and agree to a public inquiry. My main concerns now is the lack of a criminal inquiry and the fact that whoever planned this against McCabe has been given far too much time to hide their tracks. An independent anti corruption agency is badly needed to protect future and current whistleblowers
@Kevin Higgins: I agree that it was the Social Democrats in combination with Sergeant McCabe which brought this about.
The opportunity for a criminal prosecution was lost a long time ago.
We certainly need a permanently sitting anti corruption agency. Until then, Sergeant McCabe is the best that we have but he needs a big legal team and they need to be paid as they go.
McCabe has had legal representation throughout this debacle. Unsure who is paying for it but if he decides to sue for damages we should all crowd fund that legal challenge.
@Kevin Higgins: It is the costs if representation before the Tribunal which will be prohibitively expensive and a possible deterrent.
Contingency fees can address the other aspects.
@Kevin Higgins: The trouble kevin is that we will also have to crowd fund the damages via taxation. Soo peeed off with the entire system at this stage, can nobody tell paddy the real story.
Why can’t Sergeant McCabe’s 6 questions be answered up front?
@Tony Daly: If they were answered at all then the prize would be a general election?
Corruption runs this country & The media have been sitting on this for several months.. it would make you wonder what else has gone uninvestigated & unreported
Public enquiries on this country have proved to be useless as nobody ever held accountable . It’s a criminal enquiry that should be instigated and the Garda Commissioner removed
Tribunal? Another 100 million to the solicitors for something we already know. It’ll be finished in 10 years when no one remembers it anymore. Whole thing kicked in to touch and no one held accountable.
@Phil Swan: This is a more focused Tribunal. If Governments answered questions truthfully and fully there would be no need for Tribunals.
It’s bad when I find myself agreeing with Mick Wallace but he’s right that a criminal investigation is required immediately with outside resources.
I realise that this tribunal will take a great deal of time to complete it’s work. but I have to wonder, what are the chances that the conclusions will be that mistakes were made, there were a number of errors, some systemic and procedural failures, but no evidence of actual wrongdoing by anyone! Followed by an undertaking and commitment that nothing like this will be allowed to happen ever again!
@David Van-Standen: that’s the usual format of Report but the issues are far too stark here.
Taoiseach having problems with truth issues.
The man with the 2 pints needs to be found.
The champagne corks will be popping in Chambers.
The Taoiseach is truly doing his absolute level best to look after the Commissioner.
Taoiseach quoting vehement denials by some of the existence of a smear campaign.
Very, very defensive comments from An Taoiseach.
He is now doing his level best for Commissioner O’Sullivan.
3 things we love in ireland 1. Tayto 2. A good ham 3. A tribunal
Comment line closed because we’re afraid of Pat Hickey.
Nothing will change until we start to imprison government officials for the lies and corruptions that is at the root of our problems.
@B9xiRspG: 1937-1948 Fianna Fáil
1948-1951 Fine Gael
1951-1954 Fianna Fáil
1954-1957 Fine Gael
1957-1973 Fianna Fáil
1973-1977 Fine Gael
1977-1981 Fianna Fáil
1981-1982 Fine Gael
1982-Nov 1982 Fianna Fáil
1982-1987 Fine Gael
1987-1992 Fianna Fáil
1992-1997 Fine Gael
1997-2002 Fianna Fáil
2002-2007 Fianna Fáil
2007-2011 Fianna Fáil
2011-2016 Fine Gael
2016-DATE Fine Gael
This is what’s wrong with the country. Unless this changes nothing will.
@Dave Doyle: it means that in effect, there is no choice and therefore no real democracy.
That is a rather vivid list.
Another stupid Claire Byrne poll.
Another tribunal, costing millions of tax payers money, some judge will decide there’s nothing untoward after happening, and if he finds it hakim quite sure his hands will be tied so noone will be held accountable for destroying this man and his families lives and reputation… Sgt McCabe and his family deserve better
@Carmel O Reilly: Yes they deserve far , far better but this is all that can be got.
Vindication is on the way.
@Tony Daly: It is all we will get if we don’t demand more. Accepting a tribunal is tantamount to accepting the rank corruption and dishonesty at the heart of our government, police force and state agencies. A tribunal is not acceptable. Criminal prosecution is in order.
Enda Kenny is getting the answers through a hearing peace connected to “phone” maybe or some other device.
@Declan Carr: is the muppet a puppet or a dummy?
a quote from history for Enda: “You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go.”
At last!
@Tony Daly: A tribunal means that those who have engaged in malfeasance and slander will go unpunished, as any evidence they give at a tribunal is inadmissible in any subsequent criminal trial.
@Tom Sullivan: but the evidence is identified and can be separately used if there is a criminal prosecution.
I ask people here to lobby their TDS to ensure that the legal costs of Sergeant McCabe are met up front.
Kenny and O’Sullivan have a lot of explaining to do.
Can someone ask the government especially journalists, will they act different with this tribunal unlike Moriarty where we are still waiting for anything to happen .. the last thing the mc cabes need is DPP taking years on the findings of the tribunal and government being silent on the delay..
@LITTLEONE: Well said but if Sergeant McCabe can at least expose the truth that will be something, however inadequate.
The demarcation between the public inquiry and the HIQA investigation may be extremely awkward to administer.
@Tony Daly: you are spamming hard shinnerbot
@harry barry: Thanks DOB.
@Tony Daly: hilarious lol
Oh look, @harry barry is still channelling his innershit!
@harry barry: How dare you question the Shinners. Don’t you know they are always right – even when it comes to supporting the killers of Jerry McCabe!
These guys don’t get irony!
It will cost millions and, well, you know the rest.
@Beachmaster: for Commmissioner Noirin O’Sullivan
Commissioner O’Sullivan will be helping the Tribunal with its inquiries.
How cooperative will she be?
@Tony Daly: Probably very cooperative, given that she will be effectively handed immunity from prosecution.
Taoiseach, give Sergeant McCabe the benefit of the presumption of innocence.
Don’t be always trying to protect Commissioner O’Sullivan. She can protect herself.
The heat’s been taken out of it. Enda Kenny hitting Gerry Adams for 6 with the first ball put the opposition on the back foot right from the word go.
A victory for the government…sadly.
Check your blood pressures and relax for the evening.
@Emmet O’Keeffe: this is not about partisan politics. It’s about real issues.
good ole taxpayers to foot the bill yet again.
@Michael cunnane: Innocent Garda Sergeant gets opportunity publicly to vindicate his reputation after decade of vilification.
There can’t be any prosecutions now a tribunal is about to happen and another corrupt official gets to walk away with a gold plated pension.
@Stephen murphy: the evidence was disposed of anyway.
Enda lambasting Deputy Adams.
Warming up nicely now.
Someone’s gonna get a red card before long.
Enda Kenny has only agreed “in principle” to the establishment of a Tribunal under the 1921 Act
Stop giving guard’s whistles
Why didn’t McCabe sue his accuser in the guards when the accusation was declared false. Why the state now. There is so much of this that does not add up.
@Heidi3: blind accusations presented by unnamed persons.
@Tony Daly: I think the claim was not made anonymously.
@Heidi3: it was not revealed as to detail, source or specifics to Sergeant McCabe. He was the one kept in the dark. This made it so insidious and Kafkaesque.
Easy way out. Let’s have a tribunal and the taxpayer will front the bill. Shower of shits in the Dail
Public inquiry or General Election not much choice there either way a couple of heads will be served up!!!
‘set up in Cabinet’s wisdom’ that gave me a laugh
Hopefully the Taoiseach’s comments are not announcing a white wash Tribunal
Will the Commissioner be invoking the privilege against self-incrimination on the more difficult issues?
None one wants a repetition of the character assassination attempt on the instructions of the Commissioner before the O’Higgins Commission. That was truly nasty and beneath contempt.
In an inquisitorial/ accusatorial process such as that of a Tribunal of Inqury, there is no presumption of innocence. It is fact finding, not adjudicative.
Yesssssssssss….a tribunal
This is totally predictable and unacceptable. Take this whole shady affair to the streets this needs a protest.
I just watched Vincent Browne’s monday night show. Mick Clifford (usually a top investigative journalist) said he believed the issue of the cabinet ministers/Taoiseach not issuing consistent statements about who knew what, when and from who………was a distraction from the core issue(s). Apparently a large number of viewers tweeted their agreement with Clifford. Here’s a scenario for you. You are a Garda/whistleblower who has a faked child sexual abuse accusation on Tulsa’s records. Tulsa is accountable to Zappone/The Cabinet/Kenny. The Garda are responsible to Fitzgerald/The Cabinet/Kenny. You (as this Garda) are clearly going to hope that the relevant ministers/Taoiseach are going to protect you when they are made aware of what is going on……or am I crazy? So if they can’t agree about who said what to who and when…..are they part of the conspiracy or are they incompetent and unfit to offer the agree whistle-blower protection you need? How do you feel as this Garda whistle-blower? This is just as important as any other aspect of what is going on……..what did the Government know and what did they do or fail to do.
@David A. Murray: You misconstrue the position I think. Tusla are only accountable to Minister Zappone in certain respects. They are an independent body in law and for good reason. Similar with AGS. Entirely independent in law but the Minister for Justice is the vehicle by which they are accountable to the Oireachtas in certain respects. But on a day to day basis both Tusla and AGS run themselves and so they should. There is no reason at all why Government would have known or been told anything about allegations of abuse by Sgt McCabe especially once the people in Tusla realised they were unfounded. Abuse allegations flow daily into Tusla and are dealt with accordingly. The problem here is organisational it seems to me. Everything is not the fault of a Minister. The least interesting thing is what Ministers knew. The key issue is how could things have possibly got this bad in AGS and what do we do? I honestly think we need to go beyond thought of reform and think far more radically. This is just the latest in a long line of shocking Garda controversies. Rather than focus on political personalities and conspiracy theories I think we need to focus on the more prosaic truth which actually is far more shocking and suggests a far more radical course of action is now necessary.
@John R: this goes beyond AGS. This extends to HSE and Tusla as well as certain persons in the media. This multifaceted scheme involved political influence and direction.
We have political policing in Ireland.
We have political health in Ireland.
TUSLA may be theoretically and legally independent but it needs funding and resources. That’s the political dimension.
This scandal did not stop and start with An Garda Siochana.
The political dimension is the most sinister and subtle.
Enda Kenny is making a great effort to protect the Commissioner.
@David A. Murray: The disagreement over who said what to who and when is part of a smokescreen. It is designed to confuse and dissuade the confused from taking any further interest in the story.
Pull the plug, we need a proper clear out. Get ends the hell out and go to an election
I noticed that on nine news there was one individual out of the lot featured who had a shred of empathy for McCabes and wasn’t just covering heir tracks – Claire Daly and they didn’t even give her a clip they just showed her shaking her head. Gov representatives were again unchallenged defending what has happened. When are people going to wake up?? This is a fascist state.
Enda kenny spouts so much shite , he can’t keep up with his own lies.
Alledged what a word, everyone now can see that it was a smear…
Why the surprise. One of the first Yards Commissioner s fought for Franco’s “Hispanic Supercaste” which set sail from Galway in November 1936 on board a German ship. On 19 February 1937 in their first action they fired on troops on their own side killing 13 and losing one of their company and then surprise surprise the Yards Commissioner s adjudant captain Gunning deserts the brigade stealing all the men’s wages and passports under his command. This is classic “Gunningism” within the force and is quite normal in fact it is tradition.Don’t know what all the fuss is about.
If electorate accepts a tribunal, they have been hoodwinked once again. A tribunal is a mechanism for getting evidence out in public so that it can rendered inadmissible in any future criminal trials. The Tribunals of Inquiry Acts ensure that a statement or admission made by a person before a Tribunal “shall not be admissible in evidence in any criminal proceedings against him” unless those proceedings are for an offence committed against the Tribunal.
The time being wasted here is a disgrace.Apologize and move on. Enda should adopt a no nonsense attitude to things and get back to work.
@Robert Deane: When has Chairman Mayo ever shown a no-nonsense attitude to anything?
@Robert Deane: why are you being an apologist for our pal who is unfit to be Taoiseach as it is?
have your say