Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has told Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan that allegations made against gardaí under parliamentary privilege in the Dáil earlier this month were false.
People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Richard Boyd Barrett told the Dáil that Mothers Against Genocide protesters were “arrested very, very violently in some cases” and repeated an allegation by a woman that she had been “stripped completely naked” in garda custody.
His colleague Paul Murphy said the women had been subjected to “absolutely horrific” treatment.
However, Mr O’Callaghan said at the Association of Garda Sergeants & Inspectors conference last night that he contacted Commissioner Harris on foot of the allegations.
Commissioner Harris said he had conducted inquiries and reported back to Mr O’Callaghan last week “in writing” that the allegations made by some members of the Dáil were false.
He also said the allegations were very upsetting and damaging for the female gardaí accused of this “grave wrongdoing”.
Mr O’Callaghan said that politicians should reflect on that before standing up in the Dáil to make very serious allegations about identifiable gardaí.
He also said they should inform people making allegations that the appropriate forum to make such complaints is to go to the statutory agency responsible for those complaints, Fiosru, which is the new body established last week.
“Any such investigation conducted by Fiosrú will also have access to the recordings examined by the Commissioner,” he said.
They were “arrested very, very violently in some cases” despite being on a peaceful protest, he said.
