‘I’m no puppet of gardaí,’ social worker tells tribunal

A SOCIAL worker who wrote a letter to Garda whistleblower Sergeant Maurice McCabe containing false allegations of sexual abuse has denied she was ‘a puppet of the gardaí’.

Kay McLoughlin, a social work team leader, sent the letter to the sergeant in December 2015 seeking to meet him to discuss the allegations.

The letter incorrectly contained false allegations that Sgt McCabe ‘digitally penetrated’ a woman identified as ‘Ms D’ and threatened her father.

Ms McLoughlin was speaking yesterday at the Charleton Tribunal, which is examining claims that false allegations of sexual abuse were used as part of a campaign to smear and undermine Sgt McCabe.

Tribunal chairman Mr Justice Peter Charleton asked Ms McLoughlin if she ‘was in some way a puppet of the gardaí’.

Ms McLoughlin said: ‘No, I have a duty to my clients. If I felt I was in some way biased or even acquainted with someone I wouldn’t deal with the case.’

Ms McLoughlin agreed with Conor Dignam SC, on behalf of the Garda Commissioner, that high staff turnover could have led to problems dealing with the Tusla file on Sgt McCabe. Four people held the post of social work team leader from July 2013 to July 2014 when Ms McLoughlin took over, it was heard.

She said that before she took over as team leader in July 2014 she was aware of Sgt McCabe from media reports.

A Tusla file on Sgt McCabe was opened when ‘Ms D’ sought counselling in 2013 about a previously reported allegation investigated by gardaí in 2006. The DPP decided against pressing charges.

An error led to false allegations from an unrelated case being added to Sgt McCabe’s file. Ms McLoughlin was asked if the errors were made in-house.

She said they were and that they had ‘absolutely nothing to do with gardaí’.

Ms McLoughlin reviewed the files in late 2015, but said she did not see an email which outlined how the allegation of ‘digital penetration’ from an unrelated case had been incorrectly added to the file.

Ms McLoughlin said she accepted she had missed a crucial piece of information. ‘I failed to appreciate that there was a significant error on the file and I failed to review the file thoroughly,’ she said.

The tribunal continues.