Gardai in Tallaght case fined over interview

Two gardaí at the centre of an apology to a solicitor read out in the High Court on Wednesday on behalf of the Garda Commissioner and Minister for Justice were fined two weeks' wages for the way they dealt with a suspect in Tallaght Garda Station.

An internal Garda disciplinary hearing was held after the gardaí made comments about the solicitor in a videotaped interview at the station which was later seen by her.

The inquiry also considered the way the two had behaved towards the suspect, accused of robbery, during the interview.

The apology read in the court on Wednesday stated "disciplinary action has been brought against the members concerned" but did not give details.

The solicitor, Ms Grainne Malone, took a case for defamation against the two Tallaght gardaí, Mr Eddie Brennan and Mr William Dempsey. Her complaint arose out of a taped interview the two officers conducted with a client of Ms Malone's at Tallaght Garda Station in April 2000.

During the interview the two gardaí sought to undermine Ms Malone's work as a solicitor, making comments later described in the apology as "wholly unwarranted and untrue".

Separately the gardaí engaged in verbal intimidation of a graphic sexual nature in their descriptions of what the suspect might face in jail.

The case against the accused man was dropped just before it was due to come to trial. But a tape of his interrogation was made available to Ms Malone under discovery rules last year and she decided to take a case.

The officers were called before an inquiry at an internal disciplinary hearing. According to a source they were called to answer two charges - one about their behaviour towards Ms Malone and one on their treatment of the accused. The inquiry was heard before a panel comprising a chief superintendent, a superintendent and an inspector.

The officers were found to have behaved improperly towards the accused man and were fined two weeks' wages. Garda headquarters would not say yesterday whether the two had been exonerated of any wrongdoing over what they had said about Ms Malone. A Garda spokesman said disciplinary action had been taken but because it was still ongoing no further comment would be made at this stage. A source said one of the two gardaí was considering appealing the fine and this explained why the matter could be described as "ongoing".

The defamation case was settled on the day a jury was to be sworn in to hear it, and the apology read on Wednesday expressed regret that Ms Malone's professional integrity and competence had been wrongly impugned.