Minister keeps schtum on 999 ‘cover-up’ allegation
JUSTICE MINISTER Heather Humphreys has refused to comment on an Irish Mail on Sunday report that she received a document claiming there was an attempt to cover up the unanswered 999 calls scandal.
When contacted this week, a Justice Department spokesman said: ‘It would not be appropriate for the minister to comment on, nor confirm the existence or nature of, any specific protected disclosure’.
The MoS did not make any mention of a ‘protected disclosure’ in our query to the minister.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Policing Authority also said he could not comment on our report that it, separately, had received a protected disclosure. The spokesman said: ‘The authority is not a statutory recipient of protected disclosures, but of its nature, this is a matter on which the authority would never, in any circumstances, comment.’
The protected disclosure is understood to have been received by the authority over the past three weeks, and alleges a different narrative behind the unanswered 999 calls controversy.
Sources say there will be clarity given in relation to the number of domestic violence calls that were cancelled without a proper policing response at the next public meeting of the Policing Authority.
An internal inquiry into how gardaí dealt with domestic violence calls in 2019 and 2020 was set up after a victim raised concerns.
Assistant Commissioner Barry O’Brien is leading the internal review, which is expected to provide clarity on the extent of the issue next month.
According to sources, many of the issues relating to the cancelled 999 calls are the result of poor training and a 40-year-old CAD [Computer Aided Dispatch].
Last week Garda Commissioner Drew Harris apologised to domestic violence victims who made emergency calls for help but did not receive proper assistance.