Latest news with #AlanKelly
BreakingNews.ie
a day ago
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Commissioner ‘met obligations' after TD criticises Carlow shooting response
The Garda Commissioner 'met his obligations' around whether he was required to inform the Justice Minister about an undercover operation, a spokesman said, after an opposition TD raised questions about a man who died while on bail as a result of the probe. Labour TD Alan Kelly told the Dáil on Thursday that he had informed Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan about details around the death of a man 'charged after an undercover Garda operation'. Advertisement Evan Fitzgerald, 22, from Kiltegan, Co Wicklow, died by suicide with a gun after discharging it at a shopping centre in Co Carlow earlier this month. He had been awaiting trial on weapons charges from the previous year, which Mr Kelly said related to an undercover Garda operation. Evan Fitzgerald. Photo: Family handout/An Garda Siochana. Commissioner Drew Harris is required by law to inform Mr O'Callaghan about 'significant developments' on a range of topics, including the protection of life and matters that may affect public confidence in An Garda Siochana. While not specifically confirming if the Commissioner had informed the minister about the matter, a spokesman said on Thursday that the Commissioner 'met his reporting obligations' on the matter. Advertisement Mr Kelly told the Dáil that Mr Harris had not briefed Mr O'Callaghan about the death of Mr Fitzgerald while on bail after being charged as a result of an undercover Garda operation. He said: 'On June 1, Evan Fitzgerald tragically and very publicly took his own life after getting bail on being charged after an undercover Garda operation. 'Why did the Garda Commissioner not brief the Minister for Justice on the details of this case and the facts that there was an undercover operation and that the guns were supplied by An Garda Siochana?' Mr Kelly said he had to ring Mr O'Callaghan about the circumstances of Mr Fitzgerald's arrest. Advertisement Alan Kelly TD. Photo: Niall Carson/PA. 'Is it appropriate and right that I, as a member of the opposition, had to ring the Minister for Justice about this and inform him about it? 'Is it correct that I had to tell him to go to the Garda Commissioner to ask him about the full details of this case?' He questioned whether the full details would have been known if he had not informed the Justice Minister about the matter. Mr Kelly said the Commissioner had a duty to inform the minister about 'any major issues' under section 41 of the Garda Siochana Act 2005. Advertisement Responding to the comments, Tánaiste Simon Harris said it was 'a complex case' and he was not privy to when the Garda Commissioner does or does not use the provision in the Act. 'That is a matter between the Commissioner and the minister, but I understand the Minister for Justice has sought further information from the Garda Commissioner on the case.' Mr Harris also said he supported comments made by Taoiseach Micheál Martin on the need for a review of bail laws. Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA. Mr O'Callaghan previously said he had spoken to the Commissioner about various issues raised about how gardai operate, including the Carlow shooting incident. Advertisement On Tuesday, he said: 'I'm not the person who's there to supervise operationally what An Garda Siochana are doing. 'I ask the Commissioner questions that are of concern to me, he gives me answers in respect to them, that communication is confidential. 'I have no difficulty in telling you the issues I raised with him, obviously what he says back to me is a confidential process.' On Thursday, a spokesman for the Commissioner said An Garda Siochana does not comment on third party remarks. However, the spokesman noted that the legislation in question had actually been replaced by the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024 at the time of Mr Fitzgerald's death. Garda Commissioner Drew Harris. Photo: Garrett White/PA. That Act states that the Commissioner 'shall keep the Minister and the Secretary General of the Department of Justice fully informed' of matters relating to significant developments concerning preservation of peace and public order; the protection of life, property and security; significant developments that might adversely affect public confidence or performance of An Garda Siochana; matters relevant to accountability of the Government to the Oireachtas; and any other matters that the Commissioner believes should be brought to the Minister's attention'. The spokesman said: 'On this particular matter, the Commissioner has met his reporting obligations to the Minister under 36.1 of the Policing, Security and Community Safety 2024. 'An Garda Siochana does not comment on the detail of meetings between the Commissioner and the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.' The spokesman noted that two other individuals remain before the courts in relation to the offences Mr Fitzgerald was charged with. He added: 'In general, and without commenting on any specific case, An Garda Siochana uses a range of internationally recognised investigative techniques when tackling serious crimes such as drug dealing and procuring of firearms, either of which could then be used to cause significant harm to the public. Ireland 'Shocking' level of misinformation around Carlow s... Read More 'One of these is controlled deliveries. In controlled deliveries if any material is used it is safe or made safe by the law enforcement agency before being used, i.e. firearms are deactivated.' The spokesman said: 'Following allegations being published by a national newspaper in May, the Garda Commissioner referred these allegations to Fiosru for independent examination in line with the 'incidents of concern' provision in the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act, and relevant material was provided. 'As stated by the Commissioner, Fiosru has informed An Garda Siochana that it would not be taking any further action on the matter.'
Irish Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
TD first to tell Justice Minister gardaí supplied guns to man who shot himself in shopping centre
Labour TD Alan Kelly has told the Dáil it was he who first informed the Minister for Justice it was undercover gardaí who supplied guns to Evan Fitzgerald , the young man who took his own life at a Carlow shopping centre. He questioned why the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris did not inform and brief Jim O'Callaghan 'of the details of this case and details of the fact that it was undercover and the guns were supplied by An Garda Síochána'. Tánaiste Simon Harris told him said this was a matter between the Garda Commissioner and the Minister and that he supported a call last week by the Taoiseach for a review into the case. Mr Kelly said that under section 31 of the 2005 An Garda Síochána Act the Commissioner is obliged to inform the Minister 'about any major issues'. READ MORE 'Is it appropriate, is it right that I as a member of the Opposition had to actually ring the Minister for Justice in relation to this and inform him', that undercover gardaí supplied the gun, he said. The Tipperary TD has previously raised the case of the 22-year-old in the Dáil. Mr Fitzgerald had fired shots in the air in a Carlow town shopping centre before taking his own life on June 1st and Mr Kelly phoned the Minister with the information two days later. The Kiltegan, Co Wicklow man was on bail and due in court days later to face 13 charges relating to possession of guns, ammunition and explosive materials. Mr Kelly, who said he rang the Minister on June 3rd to tell him about the involvement of undercover gardaí, asked: 'Is it correct that I had to tell him to go to the Garda Commissioner and ask him about the full details in relation to this case?' Mr Kelly raised the issue in the Dáil last week and asked about reports of the court case which suggested that the gardaí had told the judge in the case that they were 'investigating' how Mr Fitzgerald and others acquired the guns. 'The guns were actually given to him by An Garda Síochána ... How could they say in court that they didn't know where the guns came from?' Mr Kelly said. Independent Senator Michael McDowell had also raised the case in the Seanad last week. He said he was 'very deeply concerned that, by informing the court that the gardaí were still investigating by whom the weapons in question were sold, the court was actively misled'. Mr Harris expressed sympathy to Mr Fitzgerald's family. 'He's a county man of mine and I know it's been a great shock in the local community in Co Wicklow. 'I understand this is a complex case and I'm obviously not privy, nor should I be to when the Garda Commissioner does or doesn't use that provision in the Act. 'That's a matter between himself and the Minister, but I do understand that the Minister for Justice has sought further information from the Garda Commissioner on the case.' The Tánaiste noted comments last week by the Taoiseach and the need for a review 'and I would support the Taoiseach in relation to his comments on that'.
Irish Times
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Gardaí under scrutiny over Evan Fitzgerald case amid claim court was ‘misled'
Gardaí are facing fresh questions about the prosecution of Evan Fitzgerald, who took his own life with a stolen gun after discharging it repeatedly in a Carlow shopping centre last month, after the case was raised in both the Dáil and Seanad. On Wednesday an Oireachtas committee was told that Mr Fitzgerald was awaiting trial for possession of illegal weapons, that had been supplied to him in a Garda operation, when he took his own life. On Thursday, the Labour TD Alan Kelly and the independent senator Michael McDowell raised the case in the Dáil and Seanad respectively, asking about court reports which suggested that the gardaí had told the judge in the case that they were 'investigating' how Mr Fitzgerald and others acquired the guns. 'The guns were actually given to him by An Garda Síochána ... How could they say in court that they didn't know where the guns came from?' Mr Kelly said. READ MORE The guns referred to were not used by Mr Fitzgerald in the fatal incident in the shopping centre but rather were those for which he was facing trial for possession of. The guns used in the Garda operation were two firearms that were in Garda stores and had been decommissioned. In the Seanad, Mr McDowell said: 'I am also very deeply concerned that, by informing the court that the gardaí were still investigating by whom the weapons in question were sold, the court was actively misled.' Earlier, Mr McDowell told the Seanad: 'It now appears that gardaí had previously met at least one of the three persons charged and without revealing their identity had made arrangements for the firearms and ammunition in question to be delivered to the three young men. 'It further appears that a controlled delivery took place using weapons already owned or seized by An Garda Síochána,' Mr McDowell said on the Seanad order of business this morning. 'Following the controlled delivery, other members of An Garda Síochána intercepted a car in which the three young men were travelling, arrested them under The Offences Against the State Act and the court was told that all three admitted possession of the firearms in question.' [ Evan Fitzgerald case: How 'controlled deliveries' are used in Garda sting operations Opens in new window ] Mr McDowell went on to say: 'Media reports state that the court was informed that there was no suspected connection with organised crime or terrorism and that the guns were intended for target shooting 'in the woods'. The court was told the three young men were childhood friends and that one of them, the late Evan Fitzgerald had a 'fascination with firearms'. 'Very strangely, it appears from media reports that the court was also informed that gardaí were still investigating who had sold the firearms to the defendants, when the judge asked that question. 'I am deeply concerned that all of these events could have been avoided if diversion rather than entrapment and prosecution had been deployed by the gardaí.' Mr McDowell said: 'I am also deeply concerned that the Garda watchdog, Fiosrú, has reportedly apparently indicated no concerns in relation to these events.' He asked for a Seanad debate on the issue. The Garda Press Office said it did not comment on 'third-party remarks nor on evidence provided in court' . However, a spokesman said that ' without commenting on any specific case, An Garda Síochána uses a range of internationally recognised investigative techniques when tackling serious crimes such as drug dealing and procuring of firearms, either of which could then be used to cause significant harm to the public. 'One of these is controlled deliveries. In controlled deliveries any material used is made safe by the law enforcement agency before being used, ie firearms are deactivated.'
Irish Times
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Arts Council wrote to officials almost 60 times over botched IT project without issue being escalated
The Arts Council wrote to officials almost 60 times about a botched €6.75 million IT project without the issue being escalated to a senior level within the Department of Culture , an Oireachtas committee has heard. The Oireachtas arts and media committee was hearing from Arts Council leadership and senior officials in the department on Wednesday. Maureen Kennelly , the director of the council who has announced she is leaving the organisation , said she found her dealings with the department over providing staffing resources for the project 'very disappointing and frustrating'. She told committee chair, Labour TD Alan Kelly, that she felt let down by the experience. READ MORE She said the principal officer she dealt with in the department at the time was 'encouraging and reassuring' when the council updated her about the 'twists and turns' in the saga, which lasted several years and culminated in the abandonment of the project. However, Ms Kennelly said she had 'no idea' the issue wasn't being escalated and it came as a great surprise to her when she found this out. Following Ms Kennelly's contribution, the department's secretary general Feargal Ó Coigligh appeared to dispute the number of contacts made with the department, only for Ms Kennelly to reassert that it was 'just short of 60'. Mr Ó Coigligh said it was a failure on behalf of the department that the matter wasn't escalated. 'We were probably being over-supportive rather than challenging,' he told the committee. Department of Culture secretary general Feargal Ó Coigligh appearing before the Oireachtas arts and media committee. Photograph: Oireachtas TV Mr Kelly later told the secretary general that the failure to escalate the issue suggested the department was 'totally and utterly dysfunctional'. Mr Ó Coigligh said he did not agree with this. The committee was also told the department has instructed the council to stop spending money on legal cases it has taken seeking to recoup some of the lost investment. The body has initiated legal proceedings against two of the 21 contractors involved in the project, Codec and Expleo, and is in pre-action engagement with another two. The committee was told €60,000 has been spent on these actions so far. However, Mr Ó Coigligh said the department had instructed the council that there should be no further expenditure on the legal cases until a recently-commenced engagement with the Attorney General's office on the matter had concluded. The committee heard that the instruction was given after an appearance at the Public Accounts Committee at the end of last month where the spending was discussed. Mr Ó Coigligh was repeatedly asked by Fine Gael Senator Garret Ahearn whether the department was supportive of the cases being taken and if any officials had raised concerns about the potential costs of the legal cases. 'What we have said is that the Arts Council should not incur any further costs on legal action' pending the view of the Attorney General, he said. Later, Ms Kennelly said the council had been 'very much' encouraged by senior officials to try to recover money spent on the project. Outgoing Arts Council director Maureen Kennelly at the Oireachtas Arts and Media committee. Photo: Oireachtas TV Sinn Féin TD for Louth Joanna Byrne said Ms Kennelly had been 'thrown under the bus' when she was not offered a new term as Arts Council director. Mr Kelly said she had been offered up as a 'sacrificial lamb' in the wake of the controversy over the IT project, adding that he felt a 'great degree of concern about what has transpired here'. She told the committee that she was disappointed not to be given a second five-year term and would have liked to have stayed on. Asked if she felt Minister for Culture Patrick O'Donovan had confidence in her, she said her employer was the Arts Council board and she felt she had its confidence and that of her colleagues. Arts Council chair Maura McGrath confirmed that the board had recommended a new five-year term for Ms Kennelly. The council had sought a second term for Ms Kennelly and when that wasn't forthcoming, they asked for the decision to be deferred until a review into the spending controversy was complete. However, the committee was told that, ultimately, Mr O'Donovan offered a nine-month extension which was 'heavily conditioned' in that it would only be in place until a replacement was found. 'I felt it was unacceptable,' Ms Kennelly said.
Irish Times
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Carlow gunman disclosure set to lead to scrutiny of An Garda Síochána
It was Drew Harris 's last appearance before the Oireachtas Justice Committee before his retirement. In between well-wishes for his contribution to policing over a long career – including from Sinn Féin's chair Matt Carthy – there was some close questioning and a political edge to it. The most dramatic came from Labour TD Alan Kelly, who disclosed that Evan Fitzgerald, the young man who fired shots in a shopping centre in Carlow before turning his shotgun on himself, had been supplied with guns and ammunition by undercover gardaí . As Pat Leahy and Conor Lally report, it was confirmed by the Commissioner that Fitzgerald (22) was supplied with the guns by gardaí under what is called a 'controlled delivery'. The gardaí then arrested and charged him with possession of firearms and ammunition offences. It was some disclosure. Such are the time limits on the questioning – because there are so many committees in the 34th Dáil there are strict restrictions – Harris didn't actually manage to respond to the question posed by Kelly. READ MORE A little later, however, Michael McDowell came back to the specific question and Harris said that controlled deliveries were frequently used in drugs and firearms cases. The matter has been referred to Fiosrú, the policing ombudsman, but has now a public and political dimension. It's certain that down the line, the Garda will come under political and public scrutiny for the deployment of this tactic. As Kelly later told The Irish Times: 'What he was doing was wrong, but where is the proportionality in the actions of An Garda Síochána? When undercover gardaí met this young man, followed him and knew who they were dealing with, did they not assess the level of threat differently and look at alternative interventions? 'They knew they were not dealing with dissidents or organised crime gangs but a young man with some issues. They have effectively said the same and even agreed to his bail, so obviously they didn't believe he was a huge threat.' Payback time (or more pay time) for former ministers and senior civil servants There was a bit of surprise when it was announced on Tuesday that Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers was holding a media conference in relation to the National Shared Services Office (NSSO), a classic back-office State agency that doesn't exactly draw news headlines. But as Cormac McQuinn reports, errors in handling pension payments have resulted in a situation where Government ministers and as many as 13,000 retired civil servants could either owe money or be owed money because of miscalculations in relation to their pension contributions. 'This cohort of former civil servants were in work-share arrangements and, while not all are necessarily affected, their pensions are to be checked for underpayments,' writes McQuinn. 'There is also an issue in relation to the pensions of 30 retired senior civil servants and one of them could owe as much as €280,000 as a result of NSSO errors.' It is believed most current Government ministers will owe money to the State, though some may be due some money back. The highest overpayment may be in the region of €30,000. Ministerial Pressure Zones There was a time when the political pressure zone only surrounded the Minister for Housing but this week it has extended nationwide, as it were, to the whole of Government. Not only did the Minister James Browne have a testing day trying to explain the changes he has introduced to rent pressure zones (RPZs), the issue dominated Leaders' Questions. There was a snarly back and forth all day between the Government and Opposition parties over the changes, with some very thorny prose being used (see best reads below). Extending the RPZ from the current 111 local election areas to all 166 was simple to explain. It was the future arrangements for tenants – especially existing ones – that came under scrutiny and, by extension, put the Government under the cosh. Browne was explaining all day and living up to the Karl Rove dictum that when you are doing that, you are losing. Under the new classification, a landlord who owns three properties or less is a 'mom and pop' landlord. That became an issue. The distinction between new accommodation coming on stream and existing accommodation also became an issue. The Opposition pounded the Government all day on whether existing tenants in RPZ zones would see changes to the increase limits after six years, like new tenancies that begin from March 2026. 'The rights of existing tenants will not change' became the mantra of all Government people during the day. In other words, RPZ rules would continue for them ad infinitum. However, it did not succeed in convincing. The Smaller the Party the Bigger the Split Wow. We did not see that coming. People Before Profit coming under attack from within for becoming too mainstream. A group of some 30 activists have left the party over concerns it would enter a future Government with Sinn Féin . It's not over the concerns the likes of Simon Harris or Micheál Martin would have. It's because Sinn Féin is essentially an establishment party, they say. The group's best known politician is Dublin City Council member Madeleine Johansson. In a statement, it said a Sinn Féin-led government would 'coalesce with the establishment and leave untouched the real government, the permanent government – the State bureaucracy, army chiefs and head of Guards'. Ronan McGreevy has the full story on this latest split among the micro parties of the far-left . Best reads Miriam Lord has the full welly on the back and forth over the RPZ changes yesterday including some choice name-dropping by the Taoiseach. Ellen Coyne, our newest colleague on the political team, covered the press conference on Gaza on Tuesday, hosted by Senator Frances Black and others. She reports that the Independent Senator said a 'groundbreaking' case against Airbnb will set a precedent for legal action against any Irish companies with links to illegal Israeli settlements. Black said similar cases will continue to be taken until the Government includes services in the upcoming Occupied Territories Bill . Gordon Deegan writes that Michael Healy-Rae's family property company has posted €842,000 in profit over two years. Playbook Dáil Wed, Jun 11th 09.00: Topical Issues 10.00: Private Members' Business (Social Democrats): Motion re Ending the Central Bank's facilitation of the sale of Israel Bonds 12.00: Leaders' Questions. 12.34: Other Members' Questions 17.02: Government Business: Mental Health Bill 2024 – Committee Stage 21.02: Deferred Divisions 21.32: Dáil adjourns Seanad 10.30: Commencement Matters 11.30: Order of Business 13.00: Government Business: Supports for Survivors of Residential Institutional Abuse Bill 2024 – Second Stage 15.30: Private Members' Business: Child Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation Material (Amendment) Bill 2022 – Committee Stage 17.30: Seanad adjourns Committees 09.30: Transport Driving Test and NCT Delays The NCT will say it has reduced the waiting time for tests from 27 weeks to 20 weeks and that one of the causes of the delays were a 60 per cent upsurge in driving test applications. 09.45: Health Issues relating to the priorities and concerns in the context of the Mental Health Bill 2024 10.45: Social Protecion Engagement with Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary 12.30: Arts, Media and Communications Committee Matters relating to the termination of the Arts Council Grant Management IT system. Pat Leahy has details of the opening statement , which deeply regrets the decision by Minister for Arts Patrick O'Donovan not to renew the contract of director Maureen Kennelly over the handling of a controversial ICT project. 12.30: Further and Higher Education Engagement with Minister for Further and Higher Education James Lawless. 15.30: Finance, Public Expenditure Israeli Bond Programme 15.30: Agriculture Examination of the impacts of the Veterinary Medicinal Products, Medicated Feed and Fertilisers Regulation Act 2023
