Dramatic intervention to take heat out of crisis
THE chairman of the Disclosures Tribunal has dramatically intervened in the crisis threatening the Government, indicating he intends to investigate issues at the centre of the controversy within weeks.
In a pointed statement, Mr Justice Peter Charleton said the next hearings of the tribunal, scheduled to begin on January 8, will focus on the matters connected to the O’Higgins Commission.
These include contacts between members of An Garda Síochána and members of the Government.
Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald is facing a no confidence motion after it emerged she received an email in 2015, when she was justice minister, setting out the legal strategy then-Garda commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan intended to pursue against Sergeant Maurice McCabe at the commission.
The timing of Mr Justice Charleton’s statement is being viewed as significant, as the Supreme Court judge had not previously indicated when he would deal with issues relating to O’Higgins.
The intervention may focus the minds of Opposition TDs and take some of the heat out of the controversy, as it provides a clear indication the contact with Ms Fitzgerald will be looked at by the tribunal early in the new year.
In what is being seen as a clear message to Opposition TDs, the judge stated that the instrument setting up the tribunal noted that “a public inquiry is the most appropriate way to investigate” the matters of “public disquiet” it is examining.
Mr Justice Kevin O’Higgins led a commission that examined allegations made by Sgt McCabe about major Garda failings in the Cavan/Monaghan region.
It appears from the leaked transcript that Ms O’Sullivan intended to discredit Sgt McCabe by suggesting his complaints were motivated by malice and that he was not happy with the manner in which a complaint against him was investigated.
The Opposition claims the Tánaiste should have acted when the email outlined the confrontation between legal teams representing thencommissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan and Sgt McCabe.
But Ms Fitzgerald insists she did not remember reading it and, in any event, the correspondence made it clear she could not legally intervene.
In his statement, Mr Justice Charleton said the tribunal was specifically mandated to enquire into Ms O’Sullivan’s legal strategy at O’Higgins.
This included looking into any contact members of An Garda Síochána had with the media, members of Government or any other relevant person at the tribunal’s discretion.
He said the tribunal already had considerable documentation on matters related to O’Higgins, including complete and unredacted transcripts of hearings and advice in writing to legal counsel as to their proposed approach.
The judge added that volumes of material on this matter were in an advanced stage of preparation and would be distributed to the legal teams of parties represented at the tribunal as soon as possible.