Report finds Taoiseach’s actions forced top Garda to quit

Posted by Jim on September 1, 2015

The 26 County Taoiseach Enda Kenny is facing calls for his resignation
after an inquiry found today that the former Garda police chief
commissioner Martin Callinan felt obliged to retire as a result of a
message conveyed from the Taoiseach.

Although interpretations vary sharply, the report by the Fennelly
Inquiry appears to confirm that the state’s top police officer was
subjected to constructive dismissal.

Callinan’s retirement in March 2014 came as a scandal erupted over the
secret taping by the authorities of phone calls to and from police
stations around the state, and a subsequent cover-up. The controversy
also centres around the undue influence used by the Taoiseach to bring
about Callinan’s sudden retirement, ensuring that the former
Commissioner took much of the blame for successive failures in the 26
County justice system.

The Fennelly report, which was published this evening, said the
immediate and direct cause of Mr Callinan’s decision to quit in March
2014 was a visit from the then secretary general at the Department of
Justice, Brian Purcell, and the message he conveyed from Kenny.

The Taoiseach said he accepted his decision to send Mr Purcell to the
Commissioner’s house on a Monday evening to discuss his handling of
Garda phone recordings controversy was the “immediate catalyst” in
Callinan’s decision to retire the following day.

The visit to Callinan’s house prompted allegations from the Opposition
parties that Mr Kenny had sent Mr Purcell to effectively sack him.

According to the report, Mr Callinan said after the visit he knew he was
expected to retire. “There was absolutely no options put on the table to
me,” he said, adding: “I was left in no doubt what I had to do then that
evening. I was left in absolutely no doubt”.

Speaking on state-run television immediately after the publication of
the report, Mr Kenny said the charge against him that he had sacked the
Garda chief had been “clearly and unambiguously” rejected by the inquiry
report.

Sinn Fein deputy Aengus O Snodaigh said Kenny’s position on the findings
was not credible, and that the Taoiseach should consider his position.
He said that the orders given by Kenny to send Purcell to Callinan’s
home had the ‘obvious effect of conveying to Commissioner Callinan that
he should resign’.

He called for the Dail to be reconvened to discuss the report next week.

“It was inevitable that Commissioner Callinan would see no other option
but to resign following a visit by the Secretary General of the
Department to his home on the orders of the Taoiseach,” he said.

“The conflicting evidence contained in the Fennelly report is
extraordinary and raises questions as to why the Taoiseach felt the need
to send Mr Purcell on the government’s behalf in the manner in which he
did, rather than waiting until the following morning’s cabinet meeting
to discuss Commissioner Callinan’s position?

“Furthermore, this report calls into serious doubt the position of the
Attorney General who was aware of important information for months and
decided not to communicate this information with Cabinet members and
other relevant parties.

“The events that led to the Commission of Investigation shook public
confidence in the administration of the Gardai. The delay in the
publication of this report, coupled with the confusion caused by the
Taoiseach in his failure to answer questions regarding his own
contribution to the Fennelly investigation and now his
less-than-convincing spin that he is in the clear following the
publication of this report, has only served to make matters worse.

“The response from Fine Gael and the Labour Party to this entire crisis
has at all times been reactionary and has focused solely on political
damage control rather than on addressing the root causes of the problem.”