Commissioner criticised over comments on case of Midlands Garda cleared in bicycle probe
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said the Westmeath-based Garda who faced a years-long investigation for lending an unclaimed bicycle to a pensioner had been "exonerated" and that he wanted to wish him well in his career.
Commissioner Harris was speaking today (Friday) after he had been criticised by a legal representative for the Garda, and by the Garda Representative Association, over comments he made in relation to the case at the public accounts committee yesterday.
The Garda at the centre of the case was reinstated to full duties yesterday for the first time since he became the subject of an investigation and prolonged suspension for giving an elderly man an unclaimed bicycle to use during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
Earlier this month, an internal disciplinary hearing cleared the Garda of any wrongdoing, but when addressing the public accounts committee yesterday, Commissioner Harris said there were details of the case that were not in the public domain.
"The case is finished. The difficulty I have, in respect of talking about this, is that only partial information has been put into the public domain," said the Garda Commissioner.
"I'm supplying all of the information, both to the Police Authority and to the Minister (for Justice), the established accountability regime.
"We only received yesterday the report from the panel chair, and that's an important piece of information to receive as well. I haven't seen that yet, nor the transcript of the panel.
"For my purposes, there's no further action for me in respect of that individual member. I'm reluctant to engage in the detail of this, because a lot of detail is not in the public domain," he said.
The Garda in question was "extremely upset" by the Commissioner's comments at the public accounts committee, according to his legal representative, Senior Counsel Damien Tansey.
Speaking to RTÉ, Mr Tansey described as the Commissioner's comments as "extraordinary".
"The matter was the lending of a bicycle to a farmer who lived in an isolated area during the pandemic. Not the most complex matter in the world, and yet it took four years (for the investigation to be completed)," said Mr Tansey.
"The member was fully exonerated at the end of an exhaustive four-day enquiry. He was fully vindicated. Five charges were levelled against him. He was cleared of all of those charges.
"He was partially reinstated last summer and that partial reinstatement grew to a full reinstatement (yesterday).
"The member was very happy about that, but then to hear the Garda Commissioner suggest that there was something perhaps blameworthy that is not in the public arena... the member will be seeking clarification in relation to that matter, from the Commissioner, and he has instructed me in that regard. I will be contacting the Commissioner immediately."
Mr Tansey pointed out that the Garda had "an unblemished career in the guards" and had already achieved six commendations in 2020, up to the time of his suspension over the bicycle in June of that year.
The Garda Representative Association (GRA) said the Commissioner's comments had "done little to diffuse the anger and disillusionment felt by the Garda, his family, and his Garda colleagues" in relation to the matter.
Brendan O'Connor, the GRA's president, said: "Whatever the commissioner was intending to say, the choice of words put us in a position where some people are interpreting it as suggesting that there's other information... there's some information that, if people knew, would put a different slant on it.
"We need clarity on what exactly the Commissioner means because, as he said, the process is concluded. Is the independence of the process being questioned? Is the evidence provided being questioned?
"What exactly is being said here that the public need to know, other than what a guard was put through for doing what they would expect a guard to do as a community police person?"
Today the Commissioner and Justice Minister Helen McEntee attended a graduation ceremony for new Garda recruits in Templemore and he was asked by journalists present about his comments at the public accounts committee.
The Commissioner said he stood over the decision to use the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI) to investigate the bicycle incident.
"This process exonerated this individual member," the Commissioner said, before adding, "and indeed I do wish him well in the continuation of his career in An Garda Siochana".
The Justice Minister expressed confidence in the Garda Commissioner and refused to comment on the bicycle case other than to say she felt the process had taken too long.