Police Corruption in the Republic of Ireland

Police Corruption in the Republic of Ireland

In 2008 Garda Sergeant Maurice McCabe complained of shoddy investigations into serious crime in County Cavan.  He never set out to be a whistleblower  but over the next eight years he exposed gross incompetence and corruption in the Garda Síochána from a violent criminal being free to murder to countrywide corruption in policing road safety.  He suffered vilification, harassment and false accusations.  Ultimately his actions led to reforms, resignations, political upheaval. and a tribunal of enquiry.
Maurice McCabe and his family will tell their own story on RTE tonight, Monday 12th of November. https://www.rte.ie/eile/360/2018/1108/1009623-whistleblower-mccabe-family-to-tell-their-extraordinary-story/

I have just completed reading Michael Clifford’s excellent book “A force for Justice”.  It is the most recent in a long series of books and articles over the last twenty five years on corruption in Irish society and in particular the Garda Síochána.  I have also had my own struggles with incompetence, arrogance and corruption in the Garda and have had recourse to the Ombudsman on several occasions.  This morning I read in the RTE news that the new Garda Commissioner has stated that his main priority is to build up confidence in the force and that he needs the input and support of the general public in order to do this.  It seems to me that Drew Harris, while his intentions are both laudable and welcome, is missing the main point.  Building up confidence in the police force of the Irish Republic is not merely a matter of consulting the Irish people nor is it a merely a public relations problem and the Irish general public are unlikely to change their perception of the Garda because there is a fundamental problem that has nothing to do with perceptions or public confidence.  The Garda are corrupt.  The Garda are incompetent and the Garda are arrogant.  This is not merely the opinion of one man who has experience of all three character defects in the national police force; it is also the conclusion reached by the various Commissions and reports.  Therefore Drew Harris, before he begins building public confidence in the police force needs to eliminate corruption, incompetence and arrogance within it.  Judge Smithwick said in relation to the Garda; “Loyalty is prized above truth” and while morale is undoubtedly important in a police force it is worthless if it is not predicated on integrity.  It is pointless asking the Irish public to revise upwards its opinion of its police force while members of that force are engaged in smear campaigns against whistleblowers, collusion with drug dealers, tampering with evidence, fixing of traffic offences, falsification of breathalyser tests, the mistreatment of suspects, selective investigation of crimes, lying, intimidation of public representatives they deem to be hostile and generally behaving as the elite they see themselves to be.  This list of instances of Garda corruption is incomplete but is well documented elsewhere in the press and the reports of the various commissions.  Is Commissioner Harris aware of what the general public whose co-operation he wishes to court is saying about the obvious lack of willingness in government to tackle problems in policing?  Every time the subject of Garda corruption crops up in conversation I hear people express the same opinion; that politicians are afraid to tackle the Garda because they have negative information on every one of them much as J. Edgar Hoover kept files on U.S. politicians.  Does this sound fantastic?  Possibly so but when Minister Alan Shatter revealed confidential information on television regarding TD Mick Wallace that had come from the Garda a lot of people said to themselves; “I knew it”.  I don’t know if or what files are kept on politicians by the Garda but I know that public trust in them has never been lower.   


Then there is Tusla.  The false accusation of sexual assault against Maurice McCabe was, incredibly, the result of a copy and paste error but the public perception is that Tusla is part of the problem.  The fact is that the perception of the Garda as a corrupt, incompetent and arrogant organisation is justified by proven facts and in this atmosphere, belief in unproven facts is entirely understandable.  Every citizen of the Irish Republic I have ever met has a story of how he or a member of his family has had an injustice done to him by a member of the Garda.  It is useless saying to these people: “But all that is changed now” when they know that is simply not true.  The Irish public may trust its police force again when it sees Garda members exposed, prosecuted and suspended for corruption and not transferred, promoted or retired.  Then Minister Flanagan and Commissioner Harris can go to the people and say “I have put my house in order and you can now rely on the Garda to serve you and not themselves”.  Commissioner Harris already knows this because he has served in Northern Ireland where the Patton Reforms were implemented; where corruption was rooted out and the PSNI now enjoys the confidence of the public.  The PSNI isn’t perfect but it is a shining beacon compared to the Garda.  I know; I have lived in Northern Ireland for fifteen years and before that in the Republic of Ireland and I can state that Northern Ireland has superior policing.  I know that when I interact with the PSNI I am more likely to be treated as per the law of the land and not the law of Omerta referred to in Michael Clifford’s book on the McCabe scandal.  My contacts with the police, north and south of the border have mainly been in the area of firearms licensing. The treatment meted out to law-abiding sportsmen and gun owners in the Republic of Ireland by the department of Justice, the garda Síochána and certain, mostly Fianna Fáil, politicians have been disgraceful and frequently criminal.  The devious, dishonest and underhand tactics employed would have been universally condemned had they been used against criminals but that is a subject for another day.  Meanwhile the morally upright majority of Gardaí have to get on with doing their jobs and dealing with the public mistrust that is none of their fault.

The main casualties in the McCabe scandal.  Former Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan. Former Minister for Justice Alan Shatter. Former Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald, former Garda Commissioner Noirín O'Sullivan and the modest and unwilling whistleblower who is no less a casualty than the others, Maurice McCabe who has since resigned from the Garda and is no longer bound by its regulations on speaking to the press or making public statements. He will appear on RTE ON 12/11/2018

How did we get into this predicament?  Perhaps life was simpler back at the end of the Civil War when the traumatised population was grateful to have its own police force composed of its own sons who shared its culture and aspirations.  The bribe taking and “fixing” of minor offences had always been there but may have grown as the numbers grew.  The Troubles meant the Garda received high approval as the thin blue line between us and the chaos of Northern Ireland and thereby escaped serious scrutiny.  Infiltration by subversives, the proliferation of massive amounts of illegal drug money, a huge and non-secure computer Pulse computer network, a growth in crime and corruption in all areas of society led to a force that was dysfunctional by the year 2000.  As one barrister put it when asked what the problem was: “A non-professional police force in a professional society”.  We gave them too much discretion and some abused it and the now the problem has become endemic.  Now radical surgery is required.  Why was Drew Harris not given the same powers to reform the Garda as Chris Patton was given in Northern Ireland?  Why can he not simply get rid of the “bad apples” contaminating the barrel?  This must surely stand out as the single most glaring instance of the lily-livered approach of the government of the Irish Republic in correcting for once and for all the problem of incompetence, corruption and arrogance in the police force.  The behaviour described by Michael Clifford in Bailieborough Garda station is not unique to that town – the failure to do the job they are paid for and the circling of the waggons at the first sign of censure.  There is ample evidence from around the country of dysfunctional policing.  In spite of this Minister Flanagan has proceeded to skirt around the problem.  He has not, as far as I am aware, ever admitted there IS a problem apart from one of “public perception and confidence” as if it were the fault of a foolish, wrong-headed and perverse citizenry that they don’t trust their exemplary police force.  I have heard government spokesmen refer to a problems of “morale and training”.  How do you train a crooked public servant to be honest?  To Minister Flanagan I say:  “Wise up. The people are not fools”.  What does one say to Commissioner Harris?  Perhaps it is best to “say nothing until we know more”.  

Garda press Officer David Taylor has resigned having been suspended after being accused of a smear campaign against Maurice McCabe.  Civil servant John Barrett has been suspended.  The circumstances of Barrett's suspension have not been made entirely clear.  He was earlier involved in exposing misuse of public money by the Garda training College

Where do we go from here?  The McCabe scandal has led to the resignation of two ministers for Justice and two Garda Commissioners followed by a couple of senior policemen and civil servants and some low-ranking members of the force who were convicted of various crimes.  This is progress and perhaps we can hope that this will continue.  The culture of corruption continues in politics, government, banking, the civil service, the church and policing.  Every area of Irish Society seems to have its share of sleaze.  Can we cleanse ourselves?  No society has ever totally eliminated injustice from its midst but some have tried harder than others and it remains to be seen whether we have that commitment.

Michael Clifford's book "A Force for Justice" is essential reading for anyone concerned for the future of our country.  I have been accused many times of being "Anti Guard" and my answer has always been the same - if any public servant is corrupt I am against him.  Maurice McCabe is an honest and a corageous and yes, a stubborn man. We should all be "for" him.  There is no other way.  There are many like him - a majority, even, and they must be supported and encouraged.

Maurice and Lorraine McCabe told their own story on RTE on Monday 12th of November. https://www.rte.ie/eile/360/2018/1108/1009623-whistleblower-mccabe-family-to-tell-their-extraordinary-story/.  Both are modest people, shy even, and they revealed how their lives had been devastated by a smear campaign.  Their genuine shock and dismay  when they realised the organisation to which Maurice had dedicated his working life had turned on them was pathetic. Ordinary decent people out of their depth with only their principles and each other to support them.

Our Hares are dying

Our Hares are Dying

 

In many parts of the Midlands hares have colonised Bord Na Móna cutaway boglands where formerly there was little wldlife but now there is concern that the population is under threat from diseases formerly associated with rabbits - Myxomatosis and Rabbit haemorrhagic Disease

I received a phone call recently from an old acquaintance in the live hare hunting community.  These are people who hunt wild hares with Beagles and as such are the most eco-friendly of the hunting groups as they don’t kill the hare - a healthy hare can easily outrun the stubby-legged Beagle.  They are also the most in-touch group as surely they must be since their sport takes them on foot across miles of countryside where they have opportunity to see wildlife most of us never see.  My acquaintance was particularly worried by a sudden decline in the hare population in county Monaghan.  Hares have, as a species, faced many challenges over the years but in recent years have showed an increase in numbers so a sudden decline was particularly worrying.  Anecdotal evidence suggested that disease was the cause and in particular, Myxomatosis.  Other sources in Britain have suggested that Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease may be responsible.  Now if there is a single topic within the context of wildlife and hunting that is replete with mythology, uninformed guesswork and downright lies it is Myxomatosis and for this reason I immediately reached for the definitive work on the subject by Michael J. Conry; “The Rabbit Industry in Ireland”.  I have reviewed this book elsewhere in this blog and I expected to find useful facts within its covers.   

Michael J Conry is the Ireland's's foremost expert on all matters rabbit

I quote: ‘The highly infectious viral disease, Myxomatosis, caused by the Myxoma Virus in a South American rabbit was introduced into wild rabbits in Australia (1950), France (1952), Britain (1953), and Ireland (1954). It had an immediate and catastrophic effect on rabbit populations.’

‘The most important mechanism of transmitting the disease, however, is by anthropod invectors (carriers) and a wide variety of winged carriers have been identified.  In Australia, early field investigations demonstrated the importance of mosquitoes as vectors.  Fenner and Ross likened the role of the mosquito to a flying pin.  Thus, any Anthropod (flea or mosquito) that “probes or bites a lesion on an infected rabbit and then bites a susceptible rabbit is a potential carrier’.  ‘Fenner and Ross concluded that compared with fleas, mosquitoes were of minor importance in the transmission of Myxomatosis in wild rabbits in Britain”.

 

European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) were introduced to Australia in the 18th century with the First Fleet and eventually became widespread. Such wild rabbit populations are a serious mammalian pest and invasive species in Australia causing millions of dollars of damage to crops. Their spread was enhanced probably through the emergence of strong crossbreeds and eventually led to the introduction of Myxomatosis

Several people were responsible for the introduction of Myxomatosis to Ireland.  They were Paddy O’Keeffe, editor of the Irish Farmer’s Journal and John Mooney, John Monahan and Myles Smith who were members of the National Farmers’ Association.  Their motivation was the destruction of agricultural crops attributed to rabbits which widespread trapping had failed to prevent.  A Dr. MacCooper of Wye College in Kent was contacted who provided a sample of a dead rabbit killed by Myxomatosis.  John Monahan’s farm at Castletown Castle outside Carlow town became the epicentre for the spread of Myxomatosis in Ireland.  Farmers from all over Ireland went to Castletown to collect diseased rabbits.  By the end of 1954 Myxomatosis had spread to every county in Ireland and the rabbit population crashed and with it the rabbit export industry that had existed for decades.  

This rabbit was suffering from Myxomatosis and has been shot in the head with a .22 subsonic bullet but the distinctive swelling can be seen around the eyes

In rabbits of the genus Sylvilagus (cottontail rabbits) living in the Americas, myxomatosis causes only localised skin tumours, but the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is more severely affected.  At first, normally the disease is visible by lumps (myxomata) and puffiness around the head and genitals. It may progress to acute conjunctivitis and possibly blindness; however, this also may be the first visible symptom of the disease. The rabbits become listless, lose appetite, and develop a fever. Secondary bacterial infections occur in most cases, which cause pneumonia and purulent inflammation of the lungs. In cases where the rabbit has little or no resistance, death may take place rapidly, often in as little as 48 hours; most cases result in death within 14 days.  Often the symptoms like blindness make the infected rabbit more vulnerable to predators.

Myxomatosis and RHD are not the only diseases affecting rabbits and hares.  This young rabbit had a heavily parasitised liver

Of RHD Michael J Conry wrote:  “Viral Haemorrhagic Disease was first described in domestic rabbits in China.  The rabbits died of haemorrhages of the respiratory and digestive systems, spleen and cardiac muscles.  A few years later the disease appeared in Spain and France in the late 1980’s, under a series of different names, causing high mortality rates in domestic and wild rabbits AND IN HARES”.

 

Freshly killed rabbit cooked over a campfire made many a memorable day's hunting but one might think twice about eating rabbit today

On the 11th of October 2018 the BBC reported:

The mysterious deaths of hares have sparked concern about the future of the species in the East of England.  Suffolk and Norfolk Wildlife Trusts are working with the University of East Anglia (UEA) to look into a recent batch of deaths.  Dr Diana Bell said myxomatosis and haemorrhagic diseases were possible causes and is asking people to report sightings of the dead animals.  She said losing a large number of hares would be "disastrous" for the region.  The People's Trust for Endangered Species estimates there are around 817,500 left in the UK.  Suffolk Wildlife Trust said the number nationally had declined by 80% over the past 100 years, with the animals hunted year-round and also facing threat from illegal hare coursing.  Over the past month, landowners and farmers have reported several sightings of sick or dead hares - many of which were around Bungay.  In one case, six hares were found dead in a field.  Dr Bell has asked people to get in touch if they find a dead hare in "unusual circumstances".  "We need to know what is happening," she said. "East Anglia is a really important stronghold for brown hares so it would be disastrous if we lost them.  "Hares are really up against it so getting good images of the bodies, along with their exact location, is crucial for us to rule out or identify possible diseases.  "Until we get more cases, we can't call it."  Dr Bell said that hares, which are larger than rabbits and have longer hind legs, were at risk from RHD2, a haemorrhagic disease that "got into the wild big-time in the last three years".  But she also said myxomatosis had been "particularly virulent" in rabbits this autumn and it was possible the highly-contagious disease could "make the jump to hares".  "Myxomatosis in hares is rare but earlier this year there was a huge die-off in Spain," she said. "That was the first time it had happened.  "We're losing both our rabbits and our hares but if we lose our hares, we're going to be in trouble."

 

RHD was first noticed by ferreters who began digging emaciated and dying rabbits out of warrens.  These fine plump specimens are obviously healthy

RHD (Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease) primarily infects only adult rabbits. In fact, research has shown that rabbits younger than 8 weeks of age are resistant to the virus. The incubation period for the RHD virus is between 1 and 3 days, with death following 1 to 2 days after the infection. There is a wide range of RHD symptoms. Most rabbits will show no signs of external symptoms of RHD.  Symptomatic cases of RHD will display fever, squeals, and often coma leading to death within 12 to 36 hours. In less severe cases, rabbits may display uneasiness, excitement, anorexia, swollen eyelids, paralysis, ocular haemorrhages, and "paddling" or loss of skin. Convulsions may be seen as well. A fatal bloody discharge from the nose has been exhibited along with blood-stained cage floors, though these symptoms may have occurred after death. Rabbits who have recovered from the less severe symptoms usually develop severe jaundice with weight loss and lethargy. Diarrhoea, constipation and abdominal cramping are then exhibited right before death a few weeks later.  RHD causes rapid development of blood clot formation in major organs such as the heart, lungs and kidneys. The clots block blood vessels causing heart and respiratory failure. An infected rabbit that has died from RHD will often have its legs straight out and head over its neck

This pair of hares lived in the fields at the back of my home.  I haven't seen them or their descendants for years

The survival prospects for the Irish rabbit population are not good, it seems, and now even the hare population may be threatened by a new strain of Rabbit haemorrhagic disease, RHDV2.  Rabbit haemorrhagic disease first appeared in the Winter of 1983 in Jiangsu Province of the People's Republic of China.  Fourteen million domesticated rabbits died within nine months in the outbreak.  In 1984 the virus that caused the disease was identified. The virus spread westward and reached Europe in 1988.  By the late 1990s, RHD stretched to forty countries and had become endemic in wild and feral rabbit populations in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Cuba.  In Europe, there was a rapid increase in research into RHD, due to the importance of the commercial breeding of rabbits for meat and fur production.  In Ireland RHD has been present for about ten years and together with Myxoma virus and various parasitic diseases has eliminated rabbits over large areas of the countryside.  There is evidence of its spread by scavengers.  In 2010, a new virus variant called rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus 2 (RHDV2) emerged in France.  In April 2016, a highly lethal disease started affecting one of the northernmost feral rabbit populations in the world in Helsinki, Finland.  The outbreak has since been identified to be caused by either strain of RHD, being the first appearance of the virus in that country.  Recently, in Sicily, veterinary scientists reported a case of RHDv2 which jumped species and infected a hare.  There are several variants of the virus that causes Rabbit (or Viral) Haemorrhagic Disease (RHD or VHD).   Some variants do not cause disease but stimulate immunity.  The virus that causes RHD is a calicivirus.  Calicivirus readily mutates and causes sudden death and has a high mortality rate (up to 90%) in unvaccinated rabbits. Young rabbits (<4weeks) have natural immunity that wears off over 4-6 weeks.    The RHDV2 is less virulent than the original strain.  It has a lower and variable mortality rate (5-70% with an average of 20%). It can also affect rabbits under 4 weeks old.  Although rabbits can die suddenly, some can recover and others may show no clinical signs at all.   The virus that causes RHD is very difficult to kill.  It can survive outside the body and is resistant to temperature changes.  It can survive at 50 degrees centigrade for an hour i.e. some washing machine cycles.  RHD and its variants are easily spread.  The virus can survive in the digestive tract of animals that feed on carcasses of rabbits that have died.  For example, faeces from crows, foxes and flying insects can infect rabbits.  In the UK, definitive diagnosis of RHD is difficult in the live animal.  There is no blood test.  Diagnosis is usually made after death.  Post-mortem signs may or may not show definite signs. Microscopic examination of the liver and other organs will show signs that are highly suggestive.  Vaccines are only partly effective.

The Irish Hare is a magnificent creature and much mentioned in our mythology.  It's loss would be a tragedy

So the news on disease among rabbits and hares is bleak.  Both species are infected by two of the most virulent diseases to appear among these species in the last seventy years.  In a recent report on October 16^th 2018 the Irish Times reported:

“Recent reports of myxomatosis in brown hares in the UK is of interest, and Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine regional veterinary laboratories have been made aware of this finding. There have been no reports of myxomatosis-like syndromes in Irish hares, nor have there been any confirmed cases.  On present knowledge and information, the reports from the UK, by themselves, provide no basis for any concern that the detection of a disease in a different species in the UK is any specific threat to Irish hares”

The Belgian Hare is really a big domestic rabbit and this Co. Tyrone breeder is worried about disease

So it would seem the Irish authorities are unaware of the problem and deny it exists in Ireland when reports from the field indicate otherwise.  One suspects a certain reluctance among officialdom to accept the evidence of hunters who are generally considered to be part of the problem of decline in wildlife populations.  This is unfortunate since there are far more untrained but nevertheless very observant wildlife watchers in the hunting community than there are highly paid civil servants doing official population surveys.

Old rabbit hunters don't die; they go target shooting - something the antis don't like to give them credit for

 

Buzzards have been observed preying on rabbits and young hares and many are asking whether this introduced species is threatening the survival of both