‘Not my intention’ to undermine garda in stolen bike case, says Drew Harris

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has said stands over the use of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI), the Garda serious crimes squad, to investigate an allegation a Garda detective stole a bike.

He also said when he told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday that only partial information about the case was in the public domain, he was not attempting to undermine the accused detective, who has since been exonerated.

“That was not my intention whatsoever,” Mr Harris said. “I am happy to clarify that the member is exonerated and indeed I wish him well in the future.”

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said she had “no concerns” about Mr Harris’s “stewardship” of the force, adding, “I have full confidence in the Garda Commissioner”. She said she did not believe public confidence in the force had been undermined by the controversy.

Mr Harris said he has now asked an assistant commissioner to review the final report on the case, which included a criminal investigation and a disciplinary process, to determine if lessons could be learned.

Mr Harris said using the NBCI to carry out the investigation was appropriate.

“I understand entirely why that decision was made,” he said. “Having seen the rationale of it … and we are talking about very experienced, competent and indeed distinguished and illustrious members of An Garda Síochána who made these decisions, I do stand over them.”

Asked if he felt his position was under pressure arising from the controversy, Mr Harris said he understood the case was “a human story”.

However, he said he also had a serious responsibility to maintain the integrity and security of the Garda’s property and evidence system.

“That [system] is about continuity of evidence and it is about maintenance of secure storage of things like firearms, drugs and money, together with the personal property of members of society. That is an important principal in itself when you stand back from the actual incident,” he said.

He accepted a prolonged suspension for the Garda member was “very difficult for them and very difficult for their family” but suspensions were used sparingly, he said. There had been no Garda suspensions arising from on-duty behaviour since 2022.

Ms McEntee said investigations into Garda members, including by the Garda Siochána Ombudsman Commission, “take too long”.

New procedures are being formulated to streamline the investigative systems with a view to making them more efficient, she said. The new system, which was being formulated before the bicycle case, will be in place before the end of the year, she added.

“It is the case that justice delayed is justice denied, so I need to make sure … my role as Minister for Justice is that the structures we have work and are efficient and effective,” Ms McEntee said. “I don’t like that some of these structures take too long.”

Asked to comment on the outcome of the bicycle case, Ms McEntee denied she was “talking around it”. She said it was not her role to comment on individual cases, nor could she become involved herself in criminal or disciplinary cases as there could not be “political interference” in such cases.

The detective garda in the Midlands was suspended for more than three years after he gave a bicycle in a Garda station to an elderly man in his community, who required it following a knee injury, during the pandemic.

However, the garda did not get permission in advance or fill out the necessary paperwork to take the bicycle, which was registered as in the Garda’s official exhibits system.

The Garda Representative Association (GRA) has described the process as using “a sledgehammer to crack a nut”. The garda was suspended and the matter was investigated by the NBCI. The garda’s home was also searched in June 2020 and the bicycle retrieved was from the elderly man.

A criminal investigation into what happened found the garda in question had no criminal case to answer while a disciplinary board cleared the officer earlier this month of all of charges. The garda had been suspended for more than three years and although reinstated last August he had been assigned to restricted duties until his full reinstatement on Thursday.