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Sam Boal

There could be criminal probe into Templemore funds - Commissioner

The Commissioner said she did not mislead the Public Accounts Committee yesterday.

GARDA COMMISSIONER NÓIRÍN O’Sullivan has said that a criminal investigation into the actions of senior gardaí at Templemore is possible.

She said that financial irregularities were legacy issues but could form the basis of a serious investigation into what happened at the Garda College.

She added that the matters dated back 30 years and that she only became aware of them in 2015.

The financial irregularities include a fund that was used for gifts and entertainment, rent collected for a site that should have been paid to the Office of Public Works and the transfer of money to the Garda Boat Club.

Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll will now examine a report conducted by the force’s head of audit, Niall Kelly, and will make recommendations including whether or not an official criminal probe into activities of senior gardaí at Templemore should begin.

The Commissioner said:

I have an Assistant Commissioner examining the report to see if there are any issues from civil, criminal or administrative law perspectives arising from it. He will make recommendations and they will be fully addressed.

O’Sullivan also stressed that “under no circumstances” did she mislead a Dáil committee yesterday.

Sinn Féín’s deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald claimed the Commissioner’s contributions to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) yesterday were full of “discrepancies, evasion and delay”.

O’Sullivan said today:

We will find out what happened and who knew about it. We have to make sure there are standards in place.

comish Commissioner at the Public Accounts Committee yesterday.

In the more than five-hour hearing yesterday, the Commissioner told politicians that she first became aware of the extent of the issues when she received a report with recommendations from her head of legal affairs on 28 July 2015.

An odd exchange between O’Sullivan and director of Garda HR John Barrett then developed over the length of time the Commissioner had spent with Barrett discussing the money issues.

She told the PAC:

Prior to that, on 27 July there was a very brief conversation in a room after meeting in Templemore in which Mr Barrett raised issues around work he was doing.

“The meeting was over two hours – it’s in the minutes,” Barrett interjected.

He had become aware of audits from 2008 and 2010 that identified accounting irregularities, and flagged them with his chief administrative officer. He had then compiled a report bringing the contents of these two audits together.

“My memory is that it was a brief meeting,” the Commissioner commented, in response to his contradiction.

Addressing journalists at Farmleigh House this afternoon, O’Sullivan said: “Regardless of how long the meeting took place in the Garda College, I think the issues speak for themselves.”

With reporting by Michelle Hennessy 

Read: The Garda Commissioner, the head of HR and the ‘brief’ two-hour meeting in Templemore >

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37 Comments
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    Mute Matt Donovan
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    May 5th 2017, 3:05 PM

    It seems like there’s an awful lot of skeletons beginning to see the light if day when it comes to An Garda Siochana. Legacy issues my eye. Thievery alive & well. Same reason the murder squad was disbanded back in the day. Root & branch reform needed.

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    Mute Les Behan
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    May 5th 2017, 3:09 PM

    An Garda Síochána are corrupt to their very core. The public have very little if any confidence left in them, and neither them nor the government seem to care. Kip of a country!

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    Mute Greg Blake
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    May 5th 2017, 3:47 PM

    @Les Behan: they are just a mirror of the way our whole country operates, a wink and a nod. I doubt there’s a single person on this forum who hasnt been involved in a wink’n'nod situation at some stage … on the roads, in sports, work, tax, queue jumping, ‘free’ TV or something else. They are not particularly good or bad. We would only replace them with more of the same from the same society. Its all a matter of scale. They were given deference to do these things because they actively uphold the system that allows corruption at the top end of society. Their rocks are being overturned so maybe now they can start to return the favour, do their job and start to turn over the bigger rocks.

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    Mute Mistawez
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    May 5th 2017, 4:00 PM

    @Greg Blake: They won’t rat on their own, look at what they did to the last person that tried! We need the commissioner gone and replaced by a complete outsider.

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    Mute Les Behan
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    May 5th 2017, 4:14 PM

    @Greg Blake: They are the guardians of the peace and charged with upholding the laws of the country. They have betrayed their oath of office and the people of this country. I fear there is a greater problem here other than the wink and nod culture you speak of. Government won’t move on the Gardaí,Gardaí won’t move on the government. Each day we descend further into the cesspool of corruption.

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    Mute Fank Pulman
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    May 5th 2017, 3:03 PM

    Why not? And a tribunal, referendum and court case – as per usual.

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    Mute Debbie Fahey
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    May 5th 2017, 4:44 PM

    @Fank Pulman: Don’t forget a panel to discuss the terms of reference

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    Mute Fank Pulman
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    May 5th 2017, 5:51 PM

    @Debbie Fahey: Yes Debbie – and we’ll need 60 or 70 barristers, food/accommodation for all, IT support and plenty of breaks.

    38
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    Mute Polly Dolan
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    May 5th 2017, 3:14 PM

    Here we go again! Arrests need to be made for fraud. We’re not interest in tribunals.. 2015 she’s known since, that’s two years commissioner and not a thing done.Dragging your heals seems to be your forte madam. She needs to be fired. We need to get someone from out side our jurisdiction, a person of calibre. Each day we lose more and more faith in our police force.

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    Mute Peter Brophy
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    May 5th 2017, 3:09 PM

    Could, should, won’t.

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    Mute Lord Clanricarde
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    May 5th 2017, 3:11 PM

    This is going to get interesting. This is a an issue within the Gardai for decades, for which our Commissioner has been part of. If he she panics now and hangs aout a few garda to save her own skin, they will sing like dickie birds.

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    Mute BERTIE
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    May 5th 2017, 3:20 PM

    Garda: do you know why I stopped you sir?

    Answer: because you did s h I t e in your leaving cert ?

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    Mute BERTIE
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    May 5th 2017, 3:22 PM

    Does Leo have a phone number where you can dob your local Garda ?

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    Mute gregory
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    May 5th 2017, 3:10 PM

    i do not recall the meeting as not being brief… was over 2 hours….

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    Mute Gerry Carroll
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    May 5th 2017, 3:56 PM

    COULD be???? Dear God there’s no end to the laughing stock O’Sullivan is in charge of (I say in charge of as clearly she isn’t accountable in any way)

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    Mute Just Me
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    May 5th 2017, 4:40 PM

    @Gerry Carroll: Agreed. Could be, but we know, Wont be.The GS top brass definitely have the dirt on top politicians in FG and FF.

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    Mute @mdmak33
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    May 5th 2017, 3:57 PM

    All involved should be arrested immediately

    38
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    Mute DeFonz
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    May 5th 2017, 6:15 PM

    @@mdmak33: form a big circle?

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    Mute Stouts O Shea
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    May 5th 2017, 4:00 PM

    Then after the probe, an inquiry followed by a report then an internal investigation followed by another report then a tribunal then an oricteachs report, another inquiry followed by a fresh report
    Then a standard s committee inquiry
    Another report and by this time 4 million spent on
    The wigged ones

    31
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    Mute Jim
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    May 5th 2017, 3:13 PM

    Hardly a shock.Corruption rife in many areas/sectors not just An Garda Siochana.As a police force compared to others in Europe, they are still one of the cleanest.In every police force there is a certain amount of corruption.You could completely disband Aberdeen Garda Siochana and replace every single position from the very top to the guard on the street but corruption will still go on.Its a reflection of society.

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    Mute Peter Higgins
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    May 5th 2017, 4:26 PM

    The Keystone Fiasco rolls on. Nothing will ever change in this joke of a police force as long as the current management are in place…

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    Mute Stouts O Shea
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    May 5th 2017, 3:55 PM

    Really a criminal probe?
    And who would be probing who?

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    Mute Makenzie Calhoun
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    May 5th 2017, 4:45 PM

    She’s like the Teflon commissioner how much more can come out and she keep her position . In this case it’s not like she’s at fault but she has known a long time .

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    Mute Inanimate Carbon Rod
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    May 5th 2017, 6:14 PM

    @Makenzie Calhoun: word on Kildare St is that she has tons of dirt on FG about how they ordered her to use a heavy hand in policing the water protestors. If FG cut Noirin loose then she has enough ammo to bring down FG

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    Mute John Wilson
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    May 5th 2017, 7:18 PM

    Noirin sounds more like Comical Ali every day.

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    Mute Colette Kearns
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    May 5th 2017, 5:02 PM

    I cant help wondering about the few recent articles on here about the abuse the gaurds have to put up with , (which I absolutely dont agree with) they knew something “else ” was coming to the surface. The focking corruption in this country is off the scales & the other distraction of trying to hi-lite welfare fraud, well Leo, people in glass houses ect ect ect….

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    Mute DeFonz
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    May 5th 2017, 6:14 PM

    Money was only resting in the 50 Templemore bank accounts, best stick it in hold-alls and move it up to the park… nobody knows nuffing,.. we are bringing in new procedures.. couldn’t happen now.. privileged information.. full confidence.. one bad apple (deceased)..full audit .. move along now

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    Mute Thomas Paine
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    May 5th 2017, 5:26 PM

    Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

    12
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    Mute The Irish Bull
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    May 5th 2017, 5:45 PM

    The jokes of the country – after the politicians and priests.

    12
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    Mute John Wilson
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    May 5th 2017, 6:59 PM

    Noirin sounds more like Chemical Ali every day.

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    Mute Jorge Thompson
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    May 5th 2017, 5:49 PM

    Only “could be” a criminal probe?????/

    11
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    Mute Dáithí Ó Raghallaigh
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    May 5th 2017, 5:50 PM

    could be……. For god sake …. I give up….

    11
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    Mute Paul Freeman
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    May 5th 2017, 7:57 PM

    A criminal probe? Garda investigating Garda,we already know the result.

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    Mute Jim
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    May 5th 2017, 3:13 PM

    #An Garda Siochana

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    Mute Thosj Carroll
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    May 5th 2017, 7:39 PM

    Hard to believe the Gardai are crook themselves & imagine why should Noirin O’Sullivan make an excuse to defend her colleagues! No wonder she’s unfit to hold her position….

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    Mute George McCarthy
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    May 5th 2017, 5:17 PM

    Who gives a f##k!!!

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    Mute Joe Rugby
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    May 5th 2017, 4:26 PM

    “The money was just resting in my account!!!”

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