Witness tells tribunal of feeling "wave of panic" over including more series abuse allegations in McCabe report

A clinical psychologist testified at the Disclosures Tribunal on Tuesday that she experienced considerable distress upon discovering she had inadvertently included more serious sexual abuse allegations in a 2013 counselling report concerning Garda Sergeant Maurice McCabe. Laura Brophy, employed by RIAN, a HSE-funded counselling service, told the tribunal that whilst meeting with a client in July 2013, she accurately recorded initial allegations of inappropriate touching. However, when preparing a formal written report following a subsequent session, allegations from an unrelated case involving another client were erroneously included in the document. Ms Brophy stated the error was identified in May 2014 when the original client contacted her. She said she immediately notified her supervisor and relevant authorities, including gardaí at Bailieborough station and the HSE, to request retrieval and correction of the inaccurate report. The tribunal, examining an alleged smear campaign against Sergeant McCabe, is investigating whether State agency files were improperly used by senior gardaí. Ms Brophy's evidence continues.