A senior garda has apologised to Maurice McCabe for a mistake at the O’Higgins inquiry which effectively accused him of blackmailing a superior to get his way.

Chief Superintendent Fergus Healy has admitted at the Disclosures Tribunal that no apology was given to Sergeant McCabe at the time the error was discovered in 2015.

Chief Superintendent Healy has been described at the tribunal as the Garda Commissioner’s eyes and ears at the O’Higgins inquiry.

He has told the tribunal that Noirin O’Sullivan was not aware of a mistaken allegation made at the O’Higgins Commission that Maurice McCabe was effectively trying to blackmail a senior colleague to get his way.

In a submission to the O’Higgins inquiry, Maurice McCabe was said to have made a complaint against a senior colleague to force his hand to release instructions by the DPP that exonerated Sgt McCabe.

In fact this was an error, and Maurice McCabe had made a complaint to a superior to get him to release the instructions to interested parties.

Chief Superintendent Healy said no apology was made to McCabe when the error was corrected, but it would be ‘completely wrong’ not to do so now.

Noirín O’Sullivan is due before the Tribunal this afternoon, but it is looking unlikely there will be time to get to her today.