Shamed garda leaves force on full pension
Taylor avoids discipline probe AND gets the cash
FORMER Garda press officer Dave Taylor has retired from the force after he was heavily criticised by the Disclosures Tribunal.
Mr Taylor, who came in for strong criticism from Judge Peter Charleton, will receive a lump sum of more than €100,000 and an annual pension of €34,000.
The former superintendent placed a retirement request with the new Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris, in recent days and ceased being a member of An Garda Síochána as of midnight on Sunday.
It is understood the decision to allow his retirement was taken some time last week, after the Commissioner received legal advice on the matter.
It had been thought Mr Harris could refuse the retirement request, allowing a disciplinary inquiry to get under way.
However, it is understood he received advice that there was no legal basis to block the request as Mr Taylor had completed 30 years’ service, which made him eligible for retirement on a full pension.
The Garda Commissioner can refuse a member’s request to retire. However, because Mr Taylor has completed more than the required years of service, his request had to be granted.
Last month, Judge Peter Charleton found Mr Taylor had aided former Garda commissioner Martin Callinan in a campaign of false and defamatory statements against whistle- blower Sergeant Maurice McCabe.
The Disclosures Tribunal report found that Mr Taylor had been part of a campaign to smear Sgt McCabe. Tribunal chairman Judge Charleton also found Mr Taylor had lied several times in his evidence and also in a High Court affidavit.
Two days after the judge’s report was published, Mr Taylor was informed he was being sus- pended on the grounds that he had brought the organisation into disrepute.
In his report, Judge Charleton also found that Mr Callinan went on ‘a frontal attack’ against Sgt McCabe, telling a TD the whistleblower had sexually abused his own children.
The false claim was made at a time when Mr Callinan was seeking to stop the Dáil Public Accounts Committee from calling Sgt McCabe as a witness.
In terms of the Disclosures Tribunal, third-party legal costs have not yet been decided and a sitting is likely to hear applications on this matter. Judge Charleton does have discretion on deciding costs and he warned in his report that witnesses before the inquiry were obliged to tell the truth.
Mr Taylor’s departure from the force comes just days after it emerged Sgt McCabe is also retiring. The whistleblower came to prominence after highlighting abuse of the penalty points system and other failings within An Garda Síochána.
No legal basis to block his request