‘ She became upset because I had mentioned prosecution’ welfare officer told Gardaí
A senior social welfare officer told Gardai the woman who has accused him of asking for a sex act had left his office upset and he believed this was because there was an overpayment due to her working and claiming and that he had mentioned prosecution.
Andrew Gilmartin went to Sligo Garda Station the day after the allegation was made by Martha Rooney.
Gilmartin told Garda Ruth Gibbons on the 10th April 2014 that he was an Executive Officer in the Sligo Intreo Office since September 2012 and was the senior floor supervisor of maintenance claims. His statement was read to the jury of six men and six women.
He recalled meeting Ms Rooney after she asked to speak to someone senior in relation to her one parent allowance. She spoke about having worked for a few weeks in the Southern Hotel and he told her that any work or change in circumstances could affect her payment.
She also mentioned that she was with the National Learning Network since September/ October.
“It was at this point I said, ‘ ah for f *** sake’ but I was terribly frustrated with her. I’ll admit it was unprofessional. I left the room to establish what NLN meant and to establish if it affected the payment. When I came back I told her it affected the payment and she began to continuously say, ‘ Oh God, I’m in trouble now, I’m in big trouble now.’
“I tried to reassure her we could work through the problem but that I needed to have all the information before I could go to the next step,” he said.
The accused told her she had more than likely committed fraud on three different points, the first two with regard to working in the Southern and attending the NLN and not telling the Department and the third was when she completed a form in November 2013 declaring no changes in her circumstances.
“I said I would like to deal with the situation locally that I didn’t want to escalate to prosecution and that I would deal with her file personally,” he said.
He roughly estimated that she was over paid at least € 1,400 or € 1,500 not taking into account the Southern Hotel work. He undertook to write to the Southern on her behalf and gave her until April 30th to come back to him.
“She was upset, crying and saying she was in trouble. I told her not worry that we would work through it and get it sorted. She left at that stage. She had been in with me possibly 20/ 25 minutes. When we went into the room initially I locked both doors into the room. I would always do this for privacy reasons.
“She tried to open the door and couldn’t so I stretched over and opened the door for her. She left the office upset. She ran out the door. I think she was upset because there was an overpayment and I had mentioned prosecution.
“I went back to my own desk and I suppose I realised I had used bad language and had been unprofessional and wanted to apologise for it.
“I made a call from the interview room where I had met her to her mobile number. I identified myself and said I wanted to apologise. She said she was very upset and I heard a male voice saying they were going to the guards.
“At this point I ended the conversation. I thinks I said, okay, that’s fine.
“The allegation made by Martha Rooney against me has been explained to me fully and I completely refute it, absolutely and totally refute it. It is standard practise for me to lock the door at the beginning of the interview. There was a full length desk between me and her at all times,” he said.
Kieran O’Dwyer, Principal Officer at the Department in Cranmore said matters of a more serious nature are held in interview rooms for more privacy.
It was normal practise he said for interviews to be conducted on a one on one basis. There were no CCTV cameras in interview rooms and no recording took place.
The accused was still working and was not suspended.
CCTV was shown to the jury of Ms Rooney entering the leaving the building and the interview room on April 9th 2014.
Gavin McGuinn, partner of Ms Rooney said he dropped her to the Department offices at Cranmore at 9am and an hour later he got a call from her asking him to come and get her at Dunnes.
She was extremely upset and they went to the Garda Station.
He told Ms Foynes that he and Ms Rooney had started living together in the past couple of months.
When he had fallen out with his mother he had used Ms Rooney’s address at Colleary Drive, Cranmore. He was there for a couple of weeks.
“I was literally on the couch,” he said. He agreed he had taken money from his mother’s bank account. He had debts.
It was only in the past year he was ‘ popular’ again in Ms Rooney’s eyes and in the past couple of years were matters back on track with his family.
Garda Ruth Gibbons gave evidence that Ms Rooney and Mr McGuinn called to the Garda Station at 11am on April 9th.
“She was very upset and was shaking. She asked to see me in private,” said Garda Gibbons. She took a statement from Ms Rooney the next day.
She made contact with the accused and he came voluntarily to the station the next day also to make a statement.
Garda Gibbons agreed with Mr Gary Staines BL ( defending) that the accused did not have any previous convictions.
The prosecution closed its case on Friday afternoon after which legal argument in the absence of the jury took place.