The Taoiseach had no involvement whatever
THE full statement issued by the spokesman for the Department of the Taoiseach to the Irish Mail on Sunday on the incident: THE events referred to all took place on the weekend of 23-25 June 2017. They involve a civil servant who has served for several years in the Department of the Taoiseach. She is not a political appointee of the Taoiseach. The Taoiseach had no involvement in the issue whatsoever. The Taoiseach first became aware of it on December 10, 2017, when the Minister for Justice & Equality informed him of the issue. The Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach became aware of it in mid-November, when the Secretary General of the Department of Justice and Equality informed him of the issue. He was informed that there had been an anonymous complaint about the Garda handling of an incident involving a civil servant in the department and that the complaint was being investigated by An Garda Síochána. This is the appropriate course of action. The civil servant concerned did not discuss the issue with anyone in the Department of the Taoiseach until Friday December 15, when the media query was received. There is therefore no question of the Taoiseach or any official of the department having contacted the gardaí about the matter. The civil servant concerned has informed senior management that an incident did occur after a night out. On the morning after the incident, she was contacted by An Garda Síochána and advised that she would receive an adult caution. She agreed to that. She was also asked to pay a bill of €160 to the taxi man. She also agreed to that, and she gave the money to the garda who arranged to give it to the taxi man. Despite receiving an adult caution in respect of the incident, she subsequently received a court summons. The complaint that was made relates to the Garda handling of the incident and is a matter for the gardaí. It is not therefore appropriate to comment any further on the matter.