Charleton Tribunal completes first module

The Charleton Tribunal has concluded its first module of proceedings examining allegations that garda whistleblower Sergeant Maurice McCabe was targeted by a smear campaign orchestrated by senior Garda management. Hearings will resume on 18 September to consider complaints from Garda Keith Harrison. The completed module investigated how a file containing false allegations of sexual abuse against Sgt McCabe, created and distributed by TUSLA, came into Garda possession in 2013 and whether senior officers knowingly used this information to discredit him. Proceedings also examined what knowledge former Commissioner Martin Callinan and current Commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan possessed regarding the false allegations. Evidence heard during the module revealed administrative errors in handling notifications between health services and gardaí. A principal social worker in the Cavan Monaghan district acknowledged failing to identify that an incorrect allegation, previously corrected, had been repeated in correspondence prepared in 2015. A further erroneous reference to Sgt McCabe threatening a complainant remained undetected in an amended notification despite review.