Damage is already done to the force

Sir — No matter who comes out wrong or right of the ongoing whistleblower scandal or appointments controversy in An Garda Siochana, an enormous amount of damage will have been done to the force in the eyes of the public. There are no winners when members of the force feel they have to report colleagues for misconduct. We cannot envisage a situation either, where we as members of the public view the Gardai as beyond reproach. There are rotten apples in every organisation and they can be at the most senior levels: bankers, politicians, businessmen to name but a few.

The problem is that most organisations have omerta that is invoked once trouble arises. We cannot seriously believe that gardai who report misconduct and have been well-regarded for years, suddenly decide to throw it all away for the sake of it.

Many of them will have put their lives on the line many times for the fellow gardai and are totally committed to the force and the law.

They have obviously felt compelled to speak up and claim to have paid a terrible price. The judicial investigation into the Maurice McCabe controversy did not report that ‘all’ the allegations made were false, and the whistleblower was praised for highlighting problems within the force.

We expect An Garda Siochana to clean their own house, but every now and again, like all organisations they need a little help. Maurice Fitzgerald, Shanbally,

Co Cork