The Guerin report, to be published today, has its origins in a meeting in a hotel in Monaghan three and a half years ago.
On October 11, 2010, Sergeant Maurice McCabe met with Derek Byrne, the assistant commissioner, in the Hillgrove Hotel.
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Sgt McCabe had made an official complaint involving around 40 cases of malpractice and corruption. These included sexual harassment of a female staff member that was not investigated; malpractice in relation to serious criminal cases involving alleged rape, sexual assault, serious assault, and members reporting drunk for duty.
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The assistant commissioner had been detailed to investigate Sgt McCabe’s complaint. He handed Sgt McCabe the results of the investigation. Just 11 were “upheld”, 22 “not upheld”, and five were listed as “ongoing” (there was some overlap). In most of the serious cases, the assistant commissioner did not uphold Sgt McCabe’s allegations.
The sergeant was stunned. He believed that, in practically all the cases, his complaint was backed up with substantial evidence. After that meeting, he lost all hope that the malpractice he had witnessed would ever be properly investigated.
One month after that meeting, Sgt McCabe was informed through work that an appointment had been made for him with a psychiatrist.
The implication was obvious. Somebody in the management of the force was inferring that this turbulent cop must have psychiatric problems. He attended and was given a perfect bill of health.
In January 2012, he made another complaint, including 12 of the most serious cases from his original complaint.
This time his target was the Garda commissioner, Martin Callinan, who was about to promote a superintendent who had responsibility for the area where most of the alleged malpractice occurred.
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By then, he had also uncovered serious falsification of records in the Garda Pulse system, which effectively wiped off the record crimes that had been detected.
As the commissioner was the focus, the justice minister was legally obliged to view the complaint. He saw no problem, and neither did the commissioner. Again, Sgt McCabe hit a brick wall.
In September of that year, Sgt McCabe’s solicitor sent the full file that the sergeant had compiled to the justice minister. This included the cases examined earlier, along with examples of the treatment Sgt McCabe had been subjected to since he began to blow the whistle.
One example was an attempt to blame him for a computer that had gone missing. The computer had been seized from a priest who was convicted of possessing child pornography. Sgt McCabe was completely cleared, but had to endure a 16-month investigation in what he regarded as a frame-up. In total, the file contained around 220 different cases of alleged malpractice.
Letters were exchanged between the solicitor and the department, but ultimately nothing was done in relation to the file.
Fast-forward to earlier this year. By then, Sgt McCabe had lost his anonymity through his appearance before the Public Accounts Committee in relation to abuse of the penalty points system.
On February 5, Mick Wallace read into the Dáil record sections of the transcript from a recording Sgt McCabe had made in the course of his complaint of January 2012. The Irish Examiner was the only newspaper to report Mr Wallace’s comments, but, following the report, Fianna Fáil justice spokesman Niall Collins raised the matter in the Dáil.
Fianna Fáil smelled blood. Contact was made with Sgt McCabe through John McGuinness, who had got to know the garda from his interactions with the PAC. Micheál Martin met him in Portlaoise on a Friday evening, and Sgt McCabe briefed Mr Martin on the range of cases which he believed demonstrated shocking malpractice. Mr Martin asked for a dossier of 10 of the most serious cases. That is the file that would form the basis for the Guerin report.
Mr Martin handed the dossier over the Taoiseach, and both men related that the contents were “shocking”. Once it became obvious that Alan Shatter had sight of these cases going back three years, his tenure at cabinet was on borrowed time.
On February 27, Taoiseach Enda Kenny appointed barrister Seán Guerin to review the dossier to see whether further investigation was required. Mr Guerin interviewed Sgt McCabe on four separate days. In the course of the investigation, Sgt McCabe added two more cases to the original 10. These included one involving widespread falsification of documents, and another concerning the attempt to blame him for the missing computer.
Mr Kenny received Mr Guerin’s report on Tuesday night, and Mr Shatter’s resignation was announced at 4pm the following day. It is expected a full commission of inquiry will be announced today.
Police in Ireland have been coercing people to buy heroin in a bid to boost crime detection figures, according to a whistleblower.
Independent politician Luke "Ming" Flanagan said he has seen evidence provided to him by someone from inside the Irish police force Gardai that high-ranking officers have been involved in heroin dealing.
Flanagan said there are also allegations of a police cover-up and manufacturing of evidence. After helping with the allegations surrounding the police, Flanagan described Keogh as a "hero".
He added: "[The whistleblower's] greatest concern with the drugs operation in November 2009 is that there was a systematic and orchestrated effort by high-ranking Garda officers to induce and coerce Irish citizens - in this case with no previous criminal convictions - to buy drugs from drug dealers and in doing do, putting them in personal danger and in turn to sell drugs to undercover gardai without making any profit, thus boosting crime detection figures for arrest."
Flanagan, who represents Roscommon-South Leitrim, also said the whistleblower claims one of his fellow serving Gardai officers threatened one defendant to change his lea to guilty on the day of his trial.
"A further grave aspect, of grave concern, in relation to the planning of this operation was that the list of nominated persons to be targeted had a notable omission in that a significant and well-recognised drug dealer in the area who has been seen [to be] long associated with a senior member of the drugs unit was excluded," he added.
"I wish I knew more heroes like him. There are plenty of them in the Garda Siochana, he's done them proud today and I hope they shake his hand rather than tie a knot in a rat's tail and put it on his door."
Representing the Taoiseach Enda Kenny during Leaders Questions, Mr Quinn said a Garda Authority, based on the Northern Ireland model, was being established along with a whistleblowers' charter as part of a raft of reforms for the force.
A Gardai spokesperson said: "The use by any member of An Garda Siochana of the confidential recipient mechanism is a confidential process and, as such, we are not in a position to comment on it at this stage."
The Independent politician singled out one particular case for mention.
"[The whistleblower's] greatest concern with the drugs operation in November 2009 is that there was a systematic and orchestrated effort by high ranking Garda officers to induce and coerce Irish citizens - in this case with no previous criminal convictions - to buy drugs from drug dealers and in doing do, putting them in personal danger and in turn to sell drugs to undercover gardai without making any profit, thus boosting crime detection figures for arrest," he said.
Mr Flanagan said among allegations handed over by the serving Garda officer was a claim his colleague threatened a defendant to plead guilty on the day of his hearing.
"A further grave aspect, of grave concern, in relation to the planning of this operation was that the list of nominated persons to be targeted had a notable omission in that a significant and well-recognised drug dealer in the area who has been seen long associated with a senior member of the drugs unit was excluded," he added.
Appealing for whistleblower protection, Mr Flanagan said the mostly young citizens targeted in the alleged operation now have serious drugs convictions.
"Nicky Keogh is a hero," he told the Dail.
"Nicky Keogh is a hero," he told the Dail.
"I wish I knew more heroes like him. There are plenty of them in the Garda Siochana, he's done them proud today and I hope they shake his hand rather than tie a knot in a rat's tail and put it on his door."
Representing the Taoiseach Enda Kenny during Leaders Questions, Mr Quinn said a Garda Authority, based on the Northern Ireland model, was being established along with a whistleblowers' charter as part of a raft of reforms for the force.
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