McDonald: Hostility towards whistleblowers in An Garda Síochána ‘as bad as ever’

Hostility towards whistleblowers and accountability at the “highest echelons” of An Garda Síochána is as “bad as ever”, the Dáil has been told.

It comes as a documentary is set to show that staff working in a unit set up to protect Garda whistleblowers claim that reforms in the force are being undermined by senior management.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald clashed over Garda protected disclosures as Dáil Éireann resumed on Wednesday.

Leaders’ Questions was opened by Ms McDonald, who questioned the Fianna Fáil leader about an RTÉ Investigates documentary to be broadcast on Wednesday evening, looking at the unit set up to protect whistleblowers in An Garda Síochána.

Key figures in the unit have themselves now blown the whistle and are among four Garda whistleblowers to speak publicly for the first time.

On the documentary, Ms McDonald said: “The very person, Dr Donal Corcoran, who was in charge of running the Protected Disclosures Office will tell a story of how he and others experienced and observed consistent undermining of the independence of the office, active interference at the most senior levels, to the extent that he and another colleague were forced to become whistleblowers themselves, and when they did that, they too were targeted and penalised.

“Why has this culture of hostility among the most senior management towards Garda whistleblowers been allowed to grow and go unchallenged?

“Members of the Garda go to work every day to protect us and they in turn deserve to be protected when they step forward to blow the whistle on wrongdoing.

“However, instead of being supported they are being destroyed. Following the disgusting treatment of Maurice McCabe, we were assured things would change, but more than a decade on we learn that hostility towards whistleblowers and towards accountability at the highest echelons of the Garda is as bad as ever.”

Ms McDonald queried whether the Government was aware of the allegation.

The Taoiseach responded that he cannot interfere with protected disclosures, and accused Ms McDonald of attempting to make political an issue that did not involve him.

“You’re trying to make it political,” he said.

“You’re trying to land it. You’re interfering. You’re interrupting me. This is what you always do.”

The Protected Disclosures Office was established in 2017, after a number of scandals related to the treatment of gardaí.

The documentary focuses on four whistleblowers who have come forward to speak out about the treatment they received in An Garda Síochána.

Labour leader Ivana Bacik told the Dáil that she met the whistleblowers involved.

She said many of their revelations relate to serious failings within Garda firearms practices, in particular serious issues with the effective gun holsters.

“Part of findings were with holsters which arose in the capital murder of Detective Colm Horkan in June 2020, and the serious injury to another garda just days before that,” she said.

“Other serious failings relate to the storage and processing of guns and ammunition. And these alarming matters were ignored by senior Garda management for a long time.”

When Ms Bacik challenged the Taoiseach that “there are also serious questions for you about ministerial knowledge and government inaction”, he responded that it was “dishonest politics” from the Labour TD.

“You know what happens when a protected disclosure is made. It doesn’t go to the office board. It doesn’t go to a minister, and it doesn’t go to the Taoiseach. You know that well,” he said.

“Why try and distort it? Let’s get to the truth. I think it’s reprehensible for any whistleblower to be intimidated, to be punished, reprehensible. There’s no time for any of that.

“But if you’re serious and honest about what you’re saying, don’t be asking me questions that you know well the answer to. That’s dishonest politics.”