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CABINET colleagues of Minister Helen McEntee say she will make a comprehensive statement to the Dáil in a desperate effort to hold off an inquisition or a motion of no confidence over her handling of protected disclosures made by Garda whistleblowers.
asserted
she → publish → whistleblowers
The blame game has also deepened within the Coalition over the exposure of a whistleblower’s identity, as politicians point the finger at officials in the Department of Justice.
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politicians → deepen → Justice
However, senior Opposition politicians, Labour justice spokesman Alan Kelly and senator and former Attorney General Michael McDowell, are still insisting Ms McEntee make herself available in Dáil Éireann and submit to a questions-and-answer format she appears to dread.
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she → insist → format
Last week the Irish Mail on Sunday revealed Ms McEntee directed An Garda Síochána to investigate a protected disclosure because it did not meet the ‘high threshold’ required for external investigation of the Garda Commissioner – based only on bullet-pointed summaries of the allegations.
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it → reveal → allegations
Neither the minister nor her officials sought any further information or corroborative evidence from the whistleblower before deciding that gardaí should investigate themselves.
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gardaí → seek → themselves
However, senior Opposition politicians, Labour justice spokesman Alan Kelly and senator and former Attorney General Michael McDowell, are still insisting Ms McEntee make herself available in Dáil Éireann and submit to a questions-and-answer format she appears to dread
Department of Justice correspondence showed that the former minister for justice personally ‘directed’ that a protected disclosure that criticised the Garda Commissioner be sent to the same Commissioner, and in the process disclosed the identity of the whistleblower.
Despite her repeated assertion that she cannot comment on protected disclosures, Coalition insiders acknowledge the huge difficulties facing the minister.
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insiders → insist → minister
Challenged by the MoS at a post-Budget press briefing this week, Ms McEntee refused to submit to demands that she participate in a question-and-answer session in the Dáil.
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she → challenge → Dáil
She claimed she has already answered questions in the House about her actions.
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she → claim → actions
But in a further embarrassing development for Ms McEntee, lawyers for Garda whistleblowers have written to the now-Foreign Affairs Minister to demand that she correct the record of the Dáil on the occasion she addressed the matter.
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she → write → matter
There are growing fears among her Fine Gael colleagues that Ms McEntee will take the blame in the expanding political controversy that has seen several Garda whistleblowers penalised for exposing wrongdoing in the force.
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whistleblowers → be → force
However, conscious that Ms McEntee is a poor Dáil debater, senior Coalition colleagues are determined to keep her away from the tough inquisitorial format, especially in light of revelations in the MoS of her handling of the protected disclosures.
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colleagues → keep → disclosures
Her Cabinet colleagues are also aware that the opposition is planning to table a motion of no confidence in Ms McEntee over her handling of the confidential disclosures.
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opposition → plan → disclosures
Ministers this week said the Coalition’s strategy to address the controversy will be to blame officials.
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strategy → say → officials
A Cabinet source told the MoS: ‘She will put more information in the public domain.
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She → tell → domain
The best way to do that is to make a lengthy, comprehensive statement to the Dáil.
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way → do → Dáil
‘But she will not be doing that questions-and-answers format.
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she → do → format
That can get completely out of control, and we haven’t really seen that since Frances Fitzgerald did it back in 2017, and we all know what happened then.’
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what → get → 2017
Then-tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald lost her job over a previous Garda whistleblower controversy after she came under fire in a question- and-answer session in the Dáil.
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she → lose → Dáil
There are growing fears among her Fine Gael colleagues that Ms McEntee will take the blame in the expanding political controversy that has seen several Garda whistleblowers penalised for exposing wrongdoing in the force
Last week, the MoS revealed how, in late 2023, Ms McEntee took extraordinary action with a protected disclosure by a senior garda who made confidential claims to her about then-commissioner Drew Harris, and serious wrongdoing within An Garda Síochána.
She first referred the allegations to a body established to handle protected disclosures.
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She → be → disclosures
However, she subsequently ‘directed’ that the protected disclosure be sent to Garda HQ and the Office of the Garda Commissioner.
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disclosure → direct → Commissioner
In doing so, Ms McEntee disclosed the contents of the protected disclosure and betrayed the identity of the whistleblower.
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McEntee → do → whistleblower
At a press conference on Wednesday, Ms McEntee was asked if she would go into the Dáil to answer questions about her conduct over the treatment of whistleblowers.
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she → ask → whistleblowers
She was also asked to explain how she exposed the identity of the whistleblower.
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she → ask → whistleblower
The minister replied: ‘I think I’ve answered this question quite a few times in the past few weeks.
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I → reply → weeks
I have been in the Dáil [and] have actually answered this… before, and I’ve been very clear.
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I → answer → this
My position hasn’t changed, and my actions, be it when I was the Minister for Justice or my time now, as the current Minister for Defence and Foreign Affairs, hasn’t changed.
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time → change → Defence
‘I’ve always adhered to legislation.
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I → adhere → legislation
I’ve always adhered to advice that’s been provided to me in relation to the legislation.
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that → adhere → legislation
And I think I’ve said a number of times that I’ve always acted to protect whistleblowers, but to protect the integrity of the protected disclosure system.’
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I → think → system
Pressed further about the matter, Ms McEntee repeatedly said: ‘I’ve always followed advice provided to me.’
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I → press → me
At a press conference on Wednesday, Ms McEntee was asked if she would go into the Dáil to answer questions about her conduct over the treatment of whistleblowers
But in a follow-up question, the minister was unable to specifically identify who advised her and under what specific legislation she was advised.
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she → ask → her
In the Dáil the same day, Ms McEntee’s successor, Jim O’Callaghan, also referred to ‘advice’ she received from unidentified officials at the Department of Justice.
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she → refer → Justice
In response to questions from Sinn Féin justice spokesman Matt Carthy, who asked Mr O’Callaghan specifically about the referring of a whistleblower’s file to their Garda superiors, the current Justice Minister said: ‘I have examined the files on what happened prior to my arrival in the department.
‘My view is that my predecessor, Deputy McEntee, behaved in an entirely appropriate manner and followed departmental advice in respect of issues to which the deputy is referring.’
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deputy → ask → which
Mr O’Callaghan said he ‘referred issues highlighted in the protected disclosure… to Fiosrú’ [the Garda Ombudsman] on February 27 last year.
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he → say → February
He told the Dáil: ‘I referred them for the purpose of having them investigated.
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them → tell → purpose
I do not want to get into detail on the issues arising from that, but it is important, if somebody makes a protected disclosure and we have identified an entity to investigate it, that the individual engage with that entity so it can conduct and conclude its investigation.’
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it → want → investigation
Speaking confidentially about the statements this week by the current and former ministers for justice, a Cabinet source noted: ‘If you analyse what both McEntee and O’Callaghan are saying, they repeatedly refer to “advice” that they received.
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they → speak → that
‘So at the end of this process, it is hoped that a civil servant or a lawyer can be thrown under a bus and blamed.
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servant → hop → bus
Certainly, if we start seeing ministers sacked that just hastens the end of the Coalition… and nobody wants that.’
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nobody → start → that
THE State has moved to further delay – for a year – a case against a Garda whistleblower that has already been adjourned 28 times.
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that → move → whistleblower
…and 11 more, not listed.
The Aporia
