Helen McEntee accused of acting ‘without legal authority’ in Garda whistleblower case

Former minister for justice Helen McEntee was accused of acting “without legal authority” and of “interfering directly” in a significant protected disclosure.Labour justice spokesman Alan Kelly made the allegation in the Dáil following the RTÉ Investigates Garda whistleblower controversy.The Minister for Foreign Affairs, who held the justice portfolio for much of the period the documentary covered, insisted she had adhered to the law “at all times”.The controversy dominated Leaders’ Questions as Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats and Labour questioned McEntee, who was standing in for Tánaiste Simon Harris.READ MOREThe documentary highlighted allegations made by four current or former Garda personnel. Two who handled Garda protected disclosures became whistleblowers themselves when they raised concerns internally, claiming reforms to protect whistleblowers were undermined by senior management.[ Garda whistleblowers are being ‘penalised and even purged’, Dáil toldOpens in new window ]Kelly, who has raised the issue over a number of years, claimed the Minister “usurped the role” of the Office of the Protected Disclosure Commission by redirecting to An Garda Síochána a protected disclosure made to her. A third whistleblower, Det Supt Brian O’Reilly, head of the Garda National Technical Bureau, had responsibility for the firearms section at Garda headquarters after a fourth whistleblower, Garda armourer Luke Rochford was arrested, and in custody made allegations of irregularities related to the firearms section.O’Reilly found his allegations to be accurate and raised concerns but following severe pushback from senior management he made a protected disclosure, involving then commissioner Drew Harris, directly to McEntee in 2023.Labour justice spokesperson Alan Kelly TD. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times He alleged the holsters supplied to gardaí were defective and possibly a contributory factor in the serious injury of a garda when his gun discharged, and in the murder of Det Garda Colm Horkan in June 2020. Kelly, who showed one of the holsters in the Dáil, said the minister correctly sent the disclosure to the Office of the Protective Disclosure Commissioner (OPDC). The OPDC subsequently “sent their statutory direction” that “the secretary general of your department be appointed to investigate this”.But “you as minister for justice directed that the investigation be removed from your secretary general and be redirected to An Garda Síochána, thereby usurping the OPDC statutory direction, which is their role”.Kelly said the minister “revealed Brian O’Reilly’s identity, thereby depriving him of the legal protections he was entitled to and exposing the nature of his allegations. “In doing so, you acted without legal authority and directly interfered with a serious and significant protective disclosure.” Kelly did not think McEntee did this deliberately but asked if it was “incompetence or a mistake”.The Minister responded that Kelly could say she was incompetent but “I can’t be any clearer in saying that I have always adhered to the rules and the regulations as they have been provided to me”. [ Senior member of Garda whistleblower unit ‘broken’ by management’s treatment of himOpens in new window ]She said when protected disclosures are before the courts, a tribunal or inquiry “this is not something any of us can talk about”.It may take longer “than any of us would like. But we have an obligation to make sure” it is allowed to conclude.Earlier Sinn Féin finance spokesman Pearse Doherty said that on Newstalk “Deputy [Garda] Commissioner Paul Cleary acknowledged that former commissioner Drew Harris had intervened in the protected disclosure process”.He said the Minister was informed in August 2020 about the “dangerously defective” holsters when a protected disclosure was made to her about it. He repeatedly pressed her about when she first made aware of the holsters. Insisting she was “not hiding”, the Minister said she had done everything in her role “to protect gardaí”.“I am precluded from commenting, as are others, so I am not hiding”.She said the Garda changed the holsters. Procurement was a matter for the Garda, she said, adding: “I had no role as minister for justice in that.”Social Democrats justice spokesman Gary Gannon said “again and again, protecting the institution appeared to take priority over investigating what [gardaí] had reported”.Firearms and ammunition were stored “in appalling conditions”, while warnings about the holsters were ignored and there was a “refusal to technically examine the holster” worn by Colm Horkan when his firearm was taken and used to murder him.[ Man convicted of murdering Garda Colm Horkan appeals verdictOpens in new window ]The Dublin Central TD said confidentiality protected the whistleblower. “It does not protect the Government nor senior Garda management from accountability.”McEntee insisted, however, that it was “not an option under the law to comment on or to confirm the existence or details of any specific protected disclosure”.