Courts / Ireland / Report

Incompetence and not "something sinister" led to false McCabe allegation, tribunal told

Summary

The Charleton Tribunal, investigating the creation of false allegations against Sergeant Maurice McCabe, heard evidence from senior Tusla manager Linda Creamer. Ms Creamer attributed the errors to institutional incompetence rather than a sinister campaign, apologising to the McCabe family for the stress caused by a December 2014 letter containing unrelated allegations. She stated that while Tusla was undergoing a major transition, this did not excuse the mishandling of the file, which she described as a governance failure. The tribunal is examining whether McCabe was targeted by a smear campaign involving Tusla and HSE files. In May 2014, a garda notification file containing false rape allegations was created, despite the DPP having declined to press charges in 2007 due to lack of evidence. Social work team leader Eileen Argue told the tribunal she did not recall the events surrounding the file's creation, including the opening of records on McCabe's children, two of whom were adults. Counsel Michael McDowell SC, representing McCabe, challenged Argue's memory, suggesting she sought to avoid personal involvement. He indicated that a post-it note from Argue directed social worker Laura Connolly to prepare the erroneous notification. Argue rejected the suggestion of a misleading account, stating she could not explain why the serious error did not stick in her mind. The matter remains at the pre-trial or charge stage, with the tribunal continuing its inquiry into the procedural failures.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Incompetence and not "something sinister" led to false McCabe allegation, tribunal told. Procedural stage: charge_or_pretrial

When:

• December 2014 Other
• May 2014 Other
• 2017-07-15 Publication

Why: Mr McDowell said that the reason the garda notification was created was because of a post-it note written by Ms Argue, which directed social worker Laura Connolly to prepare a notification. CNI source report

Case subjects

Topics

Stage Charge Or Pretrial

Read the original CNI report