FF campaign against Minister Shatter undermined by the inconvenient truth – Flanagan

Fine Gael TD for Laois Offaly and Chairman of the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party, Charlie Flanagan, has strongly criticised the actions of Fianna Fáil leader, Micheál Martin, who has misinformed Dáil Eireann and the public on key details in relation to the whistleblower issue.

“Last night on the Six One News, Micheál Martin said that Sergeant McCabe’s allegations had not been brought to the attention of then Minister for Justice, Dermot Ahern. We learnt from Minister Shatter in Dáil Eireann today that Sergeant McCabe wrote to Minister Ahern in 2009, alerting him to the fact that he had made a complaint about malpractice and corruption in the Bailieboro Garda District. It is curious in the extreme that Micheál Martin in raising these issues in such a dramatic and public fashion would not have ascertained the true facts of the matter. 

“Micheál Martin also alleged that Minister Shatter did not act on receiving Sergeant McCabe’s allegations in 2012. However the chain of events that Minister Shatter read into the Dáil record today demolishes that spurious assertion.

“Minister Shatter received details of the allegations from the then Garda Confidential Recipient on the 23rd January 2012. On 24th January he wrote to the Garda Commissioner seeking clarity on the matter. On 30th January he received confirmation from the Commissioner about the series of investigations that had taken place in relation to Sergeant McCabe’s allegations – which were outlined in detail by Minister Shatter today. On 7th February he informed the Garda Confidential Recipient of the outcome of his investigations into the matter.

“Micheál Martin’s efforts to occupy a moral high ground on this extremely serious issue have been undermined by his extremely misleading account of events. Deputy Martin and his Party have assumed the guise of concerned intermediaries in relation to this matter. And yet Fianna Fáil TDs were notable by their absence in Dáil Eireann during the debate on the whistleblower issue this afternoon. It is abundantly clear to me that Fianna Fáil’s motivations are entirely political.

“If Micheál Martin and his Party cared about the victims of crime, whose plight has been underlined by this ongoing situation, they would not have voted down then Deputy Shatter’s Victim’s Rights Bill of 2008. This Bill would have ensured that victims of crime be kept informed by Gardaí at all stages of any a criminal investigation and that they would be notified when their case is coming to court.

“People should see this charade for what it is; another episode in a politically orchestrated campaign to try and undermine the Government at any cost.

“Fianna Fáil should allow Dáil Eireann and the various investigations to carry out their work – not use this issue for politically motivated publicity stunts. Fianna Fáil’s behaviour in relation to this matter makes a mockery of Micheál Martin’s pious pledge to provide responsible opposition.”
Ends