Last night fresh questions emerged regarding Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald’s knowledge of a legal strategy pursued by former Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan during the O’Higgins Commission.
The O’Higgins Commission was established to examine allegations of Garda malpractice raised by Garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe.
It emerged last year that the Garda legal team had been requested to question Mr McCabe’s motivation and credibility as part of their defence. The hearings were held in private and therefore the direction only became clear in May 2016 when the Irish Examiner published the details.
The controversy gained further traction last week when Labour TD Alan Kelly questioned Ms Fitzgerald’s successor Charlie Flanagan on alleged contact between Ms O’Sullivan and the Department of Justice at the time of the O’Higgins Commission. Little information was forthcoming.
The matter was raised in the Dáil and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar outlined his knowledge of the situation, which was essentially that the Department and the Tánaiste learned of the tactics being used by Garda management at the same time as everyone else.
Last night, a spokesman for the Department of Justice confirmed Ms Fitzgerald and the Department knew of "issues" in May 2015 but insisted the specifics were not clear until 2016.
The statement has renewed the focus on the Tánaiste and the Department about the depth of her knowledge of the situation.
The matter arose as other justice-related issues start to take centre stage again. Acting Garda Commissioner Dónal O’Cualáin will make two high-profile appearances on Thursday.
First he will be thrown to the wolves, otherwise known as the Public Accounts Committee, to answer questions on Templemore and the re-opening of Stepaside Garda station.
He will then participate in a hearing of the Policing Authority, where he will be asked to outline how he intends to respond to revelations that 1.45 million (or more) breath test were exaggerated by Gardaí all across the country.
Chair of the Policing Authority Josephine Feehily has said she wants to see a concrete outline of what disciplinary action may be taken by Garda management.
It all re-enforced the realisation that Mr O’Cualáin is an acting garda commissioner, and his role is for an interim period.
Nóirín O’Sullivan resigned on September 10th and two months later, the advertisement for her replacement for the position has not been prepared.
There is the added complication of locating a person to the position of Secretary General at the Department of Justice. Noel Watters will depart his role in February. He, too, will appear before the Pac this week.
It has not gone away, you know.
