An independent inquiry is needed into a member of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) who allegedly attended a recent party with Gerry Hutch, the Labour Party has said.
Hutch walked free from the Special Criminal Court last week after he was found not guilty of the murder of David Byrne.
The Garda ombudsman investigator has since resigned and an internal review of his conduct is underway.
Labour spokesperson for Justice Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said the allegation is too serious for GSOC to handle by itself.
“We can’t have GSOC investigating themselves,” he said.
“We need an outside agency; I’ve suggested either a retired judge or a Senior Counsel to look over the facts, to look over this instance and to see what [lessons] can come from it because certainly there’s a huge amount of disquiet over it.”
Court artist sketch of Jonathan Dowdall giving evidence in the trial at the Special Criminal Court, Dublin, of Gerry "The Monk" Hutch (third left) for the murder of David Byrne at a hotel in Dublin in 2016.Deputy Ó Ríordáin said people would be concerned that a member of GSOC would attend a social event with an individual such as Hutch.
“If you are an investigator with GSOC you are privy to a lot of information, you are privy to how the Gardaí operate and individual Garda information,” he said.
“So, having that crossover between an investigator and those who are reputed to be heavily involved in organised crime is not a good look and what we need to know is exactly what was going on here.
“We need to know the level of the relationship.”
Although acquitted last week, Hutch has a string of criminal convictions dating back to the 1970s but there is still a certain amount of affection for him in certain parts of Dublin.
Locals in the north inner city told Newstalk he was a “lovable rogue”, a “lovely person” and someone who had “done nothing wrong”.
In a statement to Newstalk, GSOC said:
"This afternoon, Monday 24 April 2023, GSOC submitted a report to the Minister for Justice outlining the action it has taken to date concerning the resignation of a member of our staff.
"When GSOC became aware last week of a potential conflict of interest involving a member of our staff, we immediately removed that member’s access to our systems and commenced an initial internal investigation. The staff member in question resigned shortly thereafter.
"GSOC engaged at a senior level with the Department of Justice and An Garda Síochána and continues to do so. We took these steps promptly in response to the disclosure of a potential conflict of interest so as to preserve the integrity of our systems and facilitate proper investigation of all matters relating to this.
"It is not GSOC’s policy to investigate itself and we see independent investigation as integral to proper oversight, due process and fairness.
"It is of paramount importance to establish whether any concerns of a criminal nature arise. This is a matter for An Garda Síochána in the first instance and GSOC is cooperating with them in their examination of the matter and will cooperate with any investigation that they deem necessary.
"GSOC is committed to ensuring that any further investigation into this matter that may prove necessary is carried out independently, to ensure that public confidence in the oversight of policing in Ireland is both fostered and maintained.
"GSOC will not be commenting further on this matter at this time."
Main image: Gerry Hutch. Picture by: RollingNews.ie
