I didn’t hear any smears being aimed at McCabe – senior garda
A SENIOR Garda communications officer has told the Disclosures Tribunal he never heard smears being uttered about whistleblower Maurice McCabe in the workplace and was unaware of any alleged campaign to discredit him.
Superintendent John Ferris, who is in charge of corporate communications for the force, also claimed the officer who has alleged a smear campaign existed was “difficult” to work with.
He made the comments about former Garda press officer Superintendent Dave Taylor, whose protected disclosure was one of the main catalysts for the tribunal under way at Dublin Castle.
Supt Taylor has alleged he was directed by former commissioner Martin Callinan and with the knowledge of then-deputy commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan to brief the media negatively about Sgt McCabe, to tell them he was motivated by malice and revenge to make complaints about Garda malpractice which had no substance.
Supt Ferris, who was Supt Taylor’s deputy when the latter was Garda press officer between July 2012 and May 2014, told tribunal counsel Diarmaid McGuinness he was never present for any conversations between Mr Callinan and Supt Taylor about Sgt McCabe.
He also said he never heard Supt Taylor briefing journalists about Sgt McCabe.
Although the two men shared an office for a period this ended when he arrived in work one day to find his desk “upside down and in three parts” and that he was being moved.
Supt Ferris said that he found this “very disrespectful”.
But he said he was adamant that thereafter he would be professional with Supt Taylor.
“If he wasn’t going to be professional, I was going to be professional,” he said.
Tribunal chairman Mr Justice Peter Charleton put it to Supt Ferris that there must have been some discussion about Sgt McCabe in the office.
The judge asked if there was any discussion after Irish Independent journalist Paul Williams published articles in 2014 about a woman who claimed her allegations of sexual assault against a serving garda had not been adequately investigated.
Although no names were included in the articles, they related to a woman who alleged she was sexually assaulted by Sgt McCabe as a child, allegations the officer was cleared of following a thorough investigation.
“It must have created a fuss in the Garda press office. There must have been communications from Supt Taylor about it,” Mr Justice Charleton said.
However, Supt Ferris insisted: “There wasn’t a big discussion about these things.”