The Garda Commissioner has said that important information relating to the case of a garda who gave a bicycle to an elderly man in 2020 has not been put in the public domain.
Drew Harris told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that “the difficulty” he has in talking about the case arises from “only partial” information having been released.
Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy said the case of a garda having been suspended for three years while the allocation of a bicycle to an elderly man was investigated was “fairly high profile”.
The garda was cleared of any wrongdoing.
“It does seem like it was a sledgehammer to crack a nut here,” she said.
“We only received yesterday the report from the panel chair,” Mr Harris replied, “and that’s an important piece of information” which, he added, he has not yet seen.
“I am reluctant to engage in the detail of this because a lot of detail is not in the public domain,” he said.
The garda, the bicycle and the three-year suspension
Deputy Murphy suggested that the case “goes to the heart of how resources are deployed”, and asked if three monthly reviews of suspensions are being carried out as required.
“Well, if I step back from the specific case, yes,” he said.
“All suspensions are reviewed at three months”, and again “should there be any change of circumstances whatsoever”.
Gardaí remain open to any additional information, he added, saying “that is a constant process”.
“It does seem on the face of it that this is an extraordinary use of resources, or misuse of resources, from what I can see,” Deputy Murphy said.
