PROTECTED DISCLOSURE

In the early hours of the morning on June 24 this year a taxi pulls up outside a Garda station in Dublin. The driver has accused a woman, who lives nearby, of soiling the taxi. A Garda protected disclosure document says that she refused to pay a soilage fee and the fare and that the total owed was €160. The document also states that the gardaí involved at that stage were not aware of the woman’s pivotal position at the Department of the Taoiseach that night. It is alleged that the woman was ‘highly intoxicated’. Two gardaí dealing with the incident said they made all reasonable attempts to bring the matter to an amenable conclusion. The disclosure says the woman began to abuse the gardaí. She allegedly referred to them as ‘s*** on her shoe’. At this point she was arrested under the Public Order Act 1994. A summons was later issued that shows she faced three charges: refusing to pay the cost of hire vehicle; intoxication in a public place and threatening and abusive behaviour. A court date was listed for next year, but it is not yet clear if this summons has been served.