Sir, – Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan says the meeting in July 2015 took place over a cup of tea. The Garda director of human resources recalls a meeting that lasted over two hours. Any Irish reader will see no contradiction here. I am interested in what happened next.
You report the Garda Commissioner as saying that after the meeting, "irrespective of how long it took, immediate steps were taken to address all of the issues" ("Garda HR director 'alarmed' by problems with Templemore finances", May 4th). Ms O'Sullivan decided to establish a working group (what else) to examine the issues at the college. The report from that process was published almost two years later in April 2017.
A high-level group, including representatives from the Department of Justice, was established. Between July 2015 and March 2016, it closed bank accounts and sought legal advice.
In March 2016, the Garda internal audit unit was appointed to examine all the issues involved. It reported in March 2017 and found financial irregularities.
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An assistant commissioner is undertaking a preliminary examination (my emphasis) of that report.
This process is one which the Garda Commissioner believes shows her in a good light. It is hard to disagree with the view of the Garda director of human resources that there would be “expedition more quickly” with such issues had they arisen in the corporate sector. – Yours, etc,
PAT O’BRIEN,
Rathmines, Dublin 6.