Sir, – Former Garda deputy commissioner TJ Ainsworth (Opinion, October 10th) writes: “The implication of Mr Kirby’s allegation relative to the phone taps is that I somehow morphed into a stooge to carry out Fianna Fáil’s bidding.”
Perhaps the passage of time has dimmed Mr Ainsworth’s recollection of the circumstances under which he was promoted to the rank of deputy commissioner in the last days of the 1982 Fianna Fáil administration, a rank he held for only a few weeks before in early 1983 the incoming minister for justice Michael Noonan forced him to resign as an alternative to being sacked because of his activities.
On December 2nd 1982, a week after losing a general election and before the Dáil met to elect his successor, outgoing taoiseach Charles Haughey signed the Garda Síochána (Ranks) Order 1982 (SI 348/1982), the sole purpose of which was to increase the authorised strength of the force by one deputy commissioner. This newly created vacancy was immediately filled by the promotion of Mr Ainsworth from assistant to deputy commissioner.
If Mr Ainsworth still chooses to imagine that his activities in relation to the tapping of journalists’ phones were solely concerned with a legitimate police investigation then I’m sure he is still wondering why the outgoing government decided to take this unprecedented step. – Yours, etc,