I don’t want to back Nóirín ‘into a corner’

Civil servant asked to keep details from Garda chief

ONE of the most senior civil servants in the Garda force said he wanted to keep details of financial irregularities at the Garda College from Nóirín O’Sullivan so that she would not be backed ‘into a corner’ over the issue.

The Public Accounts Committee has been sent documents which detail an August 2015 meeting of senior Garda managers about the financial situation at the college.

Ms O’Sullivan has maintained that she was not told about the extent of the problems in Templemore until July 2015.

According to a note of the August 2015 meeting, Cyril Dunne, the Garda chief administrative officer, said that he rather than give specifics to the Documents: Nóirín O’Sullivan Ms O’Sullivan he wanted only to outline to her the actions being taken on foot of audits of the college.

Mr Dunne was meeting Ken Ruane, the Garda head of legal affairs, HR chief John Barrett and managers of the college.

The document states that a meeting about the college’s finances was to be held in Templemore in early September 2015, and Mr Ruane asked that the Commissioner be kept informed.

However Mr Dunne said that he would ‘keep the Commissioner informed more on process rather than content and he does not want to back the Commissioner into a corner’.

During the same meeting, Mr Dunne also claimed that the Department of Justice had known about the issues in the college for years. Issues about the multiple bank accounts and irregular transactions were raised as far back as 2008.

During a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee last week, Mr Ruane said that in July of 2015 he had told the Commissioner that his concerns about the financial transactions in the college were so serious that he felt the Minister for Justice should be informed of what was happening.

Under Section 41 of the Garda Síochána Act, a Garda Commissioner is legally obliged to inform the minister of the day of any significant matter that would undermine public confidence in the force.

But in the minute of the August 2015 meeting, it states: ‘The CAO pointed out that there are suggestions that we should involve the Department of Justice or that a Section 41 report may or may not be required and that this is something that the group will have to consider.

‘The Commissioner is very clear in her suggestion on this matter… that more information is required before a Section 41 report can be considered.’

Mr Dunne then said that external involvement was ‘not warranted’ at that time. He was said to have had ‘no major issue with what went before’ 2015.

It comes after the Mail this week revealed how a fresh probe has now been launched into tax affairs of a bar at Garda HQ in the Phoenix Park.