THE QUESTIONS THAT MUST BE ANSWERED NOW
LAST week this paper revealed an alleged attempt to pervert the course of justice in a case involving a civil servant who works for the Department of the Taoiseach. The civil servant has been served with a summons, according to the Department, over an incident in a taxi and faces three charges. It is alleged two more senior gardaí were involved in an attempt to get the arresting officer not to follow normal procedures, and sought to save embarrassment for the Department and/or the Taoiseach. A statement by the Taoiseach’s Department last week raised a significant number of issues. These are the questions we asked the relevant parties in the scandal. Their responses are detailed in our main story.
Questions for Taoiseach’s Department
Secretary General Martin Fraser was told about the incident in mid-November. What specifically was he told? Was he told that there were questions surrounding Garda conduct in this issue? Why was he told in November, when the incident happened in June? Why did he not tell the Taoiseach at any stage? According to your statement last week, Garda conduct in the matter was to be investigated by gardaí. Does Mr Fraser believe this is appropriate? Why did Mr Fraser not raise it with the civil servant, mentioned directly, immediately? Why did he not raise it even after the Taoiseach was informed? Have Mr Fraser and An Taoiseach discussed this matter? If so, when was the first time they did so? Mr Fraser knew in mid-November a member of his staff had been arrested. If he was aware that a perversion of the course of justice was alleged, why did he not discuss this issue directly with the staff member? What security clearance does the civil servant have? What security clearance do they require for their job? Was there any formal consideration that a woman who is subject to an embarrassing court case is potentially vulnerable to blackmail, if they believes her employers do not know? What formal decision was taken at the end of any such consideration? Will the civil servant be co-operating with the Gsoc review? Your statement says that a summons was served on the civil servant. What date was this served on? When did Gsoc take over the investigation? Why? It was previously investigated by gardaí. Who made the decision to make this change?
Questions for Taoiseach
Why did Charlie Flanagan tell you on a Sunday? What was the occasion of the conversation? Was it by phone or in person? And what reason did he give for telling you the information? Did he tell you about the alleged attempt to pervert the course of justice? Why do you think an alleged attempt to pervert the course of justice, in a case involving an employee of the Department of the Taoiseach, is a ‘private matter’? If it is a ‘private matter’, why were you informed directly by the Minister for Justice? Do you think it’s appropriate that, according to your Department’s statement, gardaí were allowed to investigate alleged Garda misconduct – given the context of the past six years of the treatment of Garda whistleblowers? When you were told, did you talk to Sec Gen Martin Fraser about what he
knew and when? Do you think any delay in telling you was appropriate, given the potential implications, the least of which is adverse publicity? Do you see any potential vulnerability to blackmail from an official in such a sensitive position, who believed her employer did not know about the incident. Have you spoken with the civil servant about the incident or the media coverage of the incident? This is another occasion of civil servants knowing more than their political masters, a situation that almost led to the collapse of the Government recently. Have you asked your Secretary General if there is anything else you need to know involving potential scandals in Justice or elsewhere, that he is aware of, but has not told you about? Do you have confidence in your Secretary General? When did GSOC take over the investigation? Was this at your or your Department’s direction?
Questions for Justice Department
Who told the Secretary General for Justice about this incident? Was he told about the alleged attempt to pervert the course of justice, or was it just about the Garda handling of the case? Did Justice Sec Gen tell the Minister for Justice? If so, when? What specifically did the Sec Gen tell the Minister? Did any other official tell the minister? When the Sec Gen in Justice told Sec Gen Fraser in November, was the Justice Minister aware of the situation at that stage? The Government statement on the issue says there was a complaint about Garda handling of an investigation into a person with a particularly sensitive job. It says the appropriate course of action had been taken, namely that the complaint was being investigated by An Garda Síochána? Is this the most appropriate response: Gardaí investigating gardai? When was the Gsoc investigation launched? Why? It was previously investigated by gardaí. Who made the decision to make this change? When was the summons served?
Questions for Justice Minister
When did you first know about this? How long elapsed between your becoming aware of an allegation of perversion of the course of justice in favour of a civil servant in the employ of the Department of the Taoiseach, and speaking with An Taoiseach? If there was a delay, do you regret this? Why did you talk to the Taoiseach about this on a Sunday? What caused you to talk to him at this stage? Was it on the phone, or in person? Do you see any potential vulnerability to blackmail from an official in such a sensitive position, who believed that their employer did not know about the incident? This is another occasion of civil servants knowing more than their political masters, a situation that almost led to the collapse of the Government recently. Have you asked your (acting) Secretary General if there is anything else you need to know involving potential scandals in Justice or elsewhere, that he is aware of, but has not told you about? Do you think it’s appropriate that, according to the Taoiseach’s Department’s statement, gardaí were initially allowed to investigate alleged Garda misconduct – given the context of the past six years of the treatment of Garda whistleblowers? When did Gsoc take over the investigation? Was this at your or your Department’s direction?
Questions for Gardaí
Is there an adult caution registered against the civil servant? They have told their employers they were given an adult caution. But the soilage fine cannot be dealt with by adult caution. How does An Garda Síochaná explain this? How, if they got an adult caution, has a summons been issued, given adult cautions take the place of prosecutions, and don’t co-exist with them? Has the summons been served? If so, when? If not, why not? The Department of the Taoiseach says that gardaí initially investigated claims of Garda misconduct and alleged perversion of the course of justice? Who investigated it? How was the investigation conducted? Have gardaí handed over their notes of that investigation to Gsoc, who we now understand are investigating? When did Gsoc take over the investigation?