D’Arcy spoke truth about QIH but gardaí don’t want to hear

NOW, this is where the gardaí need to take a step back – because there’s absolutely nothing at all to see here. Someone really needs to tell them: ‘Move on now, please.’ As far as most reasonable people are concerned, Junior Finance Minister Michael D’Arcy was merely stating the blindingly obvious when he pointed out last weekend that the violence and threats to executives of Quinn Industrial Holdings, QIH, should have been dealt with sooner and better at local Garda level.

He said senior gardaí in the border area had ‘let down’ the

QIH executives.

Given what actually has happened, how could anybody object to any of that? The weight of evidence absolutely supports what Mr D’Arcy had to say.

Fact: for over four years dedicated terrorists and thugs have been attacking, threatening and intimidating QIH executives.

Fact: the gardaí and the PSNI were well aware of this criminality.

Fact: any action taken by the gardaí and the PSNI was clearly insufficient and demonstrably ineffective in stopping that campaign of terror.

Fact: matters escalated to the point where criminals felt emboldened enough to kidnap Kevin Lunney, torture him and then dump him on the side of a country road, almost naked and in a manner that put his life at serious risk.

Fact: a notorious sign threatening QIH executives was allowed to remain up, in public view, for months on end and was only removed by gardaí when the force was humiliated and embarrassed into doing so.

Rather than acknowledging the essential truth of what Mr D’Arcy had to say, Garda representative bodies have been demonstrating how out of touch they are with the public mood on this matter.

First we had AGSI president

Cormac Moylan – representing sergeants and inspectors – on Morning Ireland calling for D’Arcy to clarify his remarks, describing them as unhelpful.

HOWEVER, rather than being a witness disproving what the Junior Minister said, he instead provided evidence that supported him.

When he was asked about the Garda response to the litany of warnings gardaí received about the terror campaign, he said he didn’t wish to comment on a matter that was ongoing.

When he was asked about the length of time it took to remove the intimidatory sign, and how many gardaí it took to remove such a sign, Mr Moylan said that was a matter for senior gardaí to direct. Indeed.

Which is a lot like what Mr D’Arcy was saying in the first place?

Now we have the GRA, representing rank and file gardaí weighing in by going over D’Arcy’s head to the Taoiseach and describing the Junior Minister’s criticism as ‘baseless’, ‘reckless’ and ‘irresponsible’.

The most remarkable point in the GRA’s attack is the accusation that Mr D’Arcy ‘risks undermining public confidence in our members policing the border’.

Well, newsflash!

This sorry saga has already undermined public confidence in that regard and this depletion of confidence had taken hold well before Michael D’Arcy did what all of us are charged to do – speak truth to power.

Michael D’Arcy should be praised, not attacked, complained about to his boss or criticised for what he said. Because he was right.

However, considering the strength of opposition ranged against him, he could live to regret his moment of clarity.

PASCHAL DONOHOE, his senior at Finance, has already put clear and ominous distance between him and the higher-ups in Government. Donohoe said the views expressed by D’Arcy were not shared by others within Cabinet. As a pillar of the Irish State, the gardaí possess incredible power and status.

As we know only too well, as an institution they have displayed a historic distaste for criticism when they’re at the receiving end, no matter how justified and in the public interest that criticism has been. The Garda’s complaints department, like that famous Carlsberg ad, has been closed for decades – if it was ever really open.

Considering what we know now about clearly identified fault lines running through the gardaí, one would expect Mr D’Arcy’s candid honesty to be received with a lot more reflection and humility.

The gardaí still have a long road in front of them in that respect.

There is no credible evidence to support the charges against Michael D’Arcy by Garda representative associations.

He’s an entirely innocent man whose only ‘crime’ was to speak his mind. However, that may not be enough to protect him.

In politics, innocence and truth offer no defence at all.

If the pressure becomes unbearable on Leo and the Gang, D’Arcy will be hung out to dry.