Former and current Garda commissioners car park meeting ‘must be explained’
The TD who was asked to attend the meeting with Mr Callinan, former Dáil public accounts committee chair John McGuinness, has called for an explanation after the latest controversy for the Garda force emerged at the weekend.
As revealed in Saturday’s Irish Examiner, Fianna Fáil TD Mr McGuinness was asked by Mr Callinan to attend a private meeting in a hotel car park in 2014 to discuss allegations being made by Sgt McCabe.
During the conversation, which occurred just days before an infamous PAC meeting over the controversy, the then Garda commissioner made “vile and disturbing” claims against the whistleblower in order to attack his credibility, said Mr McGuinness.
He said he found the claims to be without foundation and did not tell anyone else about the meeting at the time because knowledge of it could have derailed the PAC discussion.
However, Mr McGuinness — who earlier this month was dropped from his party’s front bench and was widely predicted last week to lose his PAC chair position — said he decided to reveal the car park meeting due to fresh concerns about how Sgt McCabe was treated by the Garda hierarchy, and whether there was a campaign against him.
Clarification sought on garda whistleblower stories https://t.co/7UiVjA4zHw pic.twitter.com/kfun3TpZ6x
— Irish Examiner (@irishexaminer) May 29, 2016
Mr McGuinness told RTÉ’s This Week programme yesterday that, in light of the latest issue, it is time for Mr Callinan to provide a statement on why the meeting took place and who else was aware of what happened.
He said Ms O’Sullivan must also explain whether she had any knowledge of what took place, due to her high-ranking position at the time.
“The intention of the meeting was to suggest he [Sgt McCabe] had question marks over him,” said Mr McGuinness. “It has to be asked, who else knew about the meeting? How many people within the police force knew?
“Until such a time as all the issues are identified and addressed, I don’t think anyone can express full confidence [in the gardaí]. I believe a full statement from Mr Callinan is needed. But Martin Callinan is now retired.
“I believe a full statement in relation to the efforts made by the Garda Síochána to discredit Sgt Maurice McCabe... that a statement should be made by the current commissioner in relation to what was known at that time about the efforts that were made and who was involved.”
Time we challenged the ‘blue wall of silence’ in An Garda Síochána https://t.co/5OLPVqwOyC pic.twitter.com/ZlqwJRqc8G
— Irish Examiner (@irishexaminer) May 29, 2016
Since the release of the O’Higgins report this month, Ms O’Sullivan has come under increasing pressure over allegations that a lawyer for the force claimed during meetings with Justice O’Higgins that he was instructed to attack or impugn Sgt McCabe’s integrity.
Further issues have also emerged over a 2008 meeting between Sgt McCabe and two officers, in which it was claimed the whistleblower admitted he was motivated by malice — a suggestion proven to be incorrect when Sgt McCabe produced a recording of the conversation.
