Undercover gardaí supplied guns and ammunition to Carlow man Evan Fitzgerald – who was then charged with possession of the firearms, an Oireachtas committee has heard.
While awaiting trial on the firearms charges, Mr Fitzgerald (22), from Kiltegan, Co Wicklow, stole another weapon from a neighbour and fired shots in a Carlow shopping centre before turning that gun on himself.
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris was questioned about Mr Fitzgerald’s case by Labour TD Alan Kelly and later by Senator Michael McDowell during his appearance at the justice committee on Tuesday afternoon.
Mr Kelly asked the commissioner a number of questions about the Fitzgerald case: “What was the provenance of the guns that the deceased young man bought off the dark web? Where did they come from? Was this a controlled delivery of guns and ammunition? Did undercover gardaí engage with this young man face to face prior to this delivery of guns and ammunition?”
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The commissioner said he had referred the issue to Fiosrú, the office of the Garda ombudsman. Fiosrú concluded an investigation in less than three weeks and “have no further action they wish to take”, Mr Harris told the committee.
He said: “I would say then that controlled delivery is a very sensitive police methodology. We use it both for organised crime and for terrorist offences.”
Mr Kelly went on to ask: “Are you in a position to say whether gardaí engaged with this individual prior to this controlled delivery that was organised by An Garda Síochána of guns and ammunition to this individual, and are you able to answer about the provenance of the guns?”
Mr Harris replied that he was “not going to speak to the provenance of the firearms as that touches on sensitive methodology and the other matter is still before the courts”.
Mr Kelly said he had “serious concerns” about the situation, while Senator Michael McDowell also expressed his concerns.
In a statement to The Irish Times, Mr Kelly said later: “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.”
In reply to queries, Garda Headquarters said Fiosrú, which investigates allegations of wrongdoing and other matters relating to the Garda, examined the nature of the operation after a referral was made to it last month. It added that Fiosrú had informed the Garda last week “it would not be taking any further action on the matter”.
Mr Fitzgerald, a former steelyard worker, was on bail at the time of his death, having been charged last March with firearms and explosives offences.
A Garda member told a court the young man had a “fascination” with firearms.
