Gardai’s head of legal affairs tells Tribunal he should have told Commissioner to think about strategy
The head of legal affairs with the Gardai says in hindsight he should have told the Garda Commissioner think about the strategy to discredit Maurice McCabe, once the matter was raised at the Inquiry, as it was inconsistent with the previous garda policy to support him.
Ken Ruane told the Disclosures Tribunal that the introduction of background information on McCabe at a meeting with Counsel for the Commissioner could have muddied the waters.
The Tribunal is currently examining whether Commissioner Noirin O’Sullivan relied on false allegations of abuse to smear the garda whistleblower at the O’Higgins Commission of Investigation.
Ken Ruane has told the Disclosures Tribunal that from January to April, there was no mention of senior gardai attacking the motivation of Maurice McCabe, and that Commissioner Noirin O’Sullivan had expressed her support for the Whistleblower in a meeting with him.
However on the 15th of May, during private hearings at the O’Higgins commission of Investigation, counsel for the Commissioner said he’d been directed to attack the motivation of Maurice McCabe.
Four days previously, at the first consultation with the legal team, background issues were raised about Maurice McCabe, but Ken Ruane said no instruction was given at this meeting to attack his motivation.
Mr Ruane accepted that the introduction of the background information could have had the effect of muddying the waters regarding Sgt McCabe’s motivation.
He also admitted that in hindsight – he should have told the Garda Commissioner to think about the strategy to discredit Maurice McCabe, once the matter was raised at the Inquiry, as it was inconsistent with the previous garda policy to support him.
