The High Court has rejected army captain Alan Kearney’s challenge to the termination of his candidature for Captain of the Guard at the Houses of the Oireachtas after Garda security clearance was not forthcoming.
Kearney applied for the post in February 2021 and was told on 26 March that he was the preferred candidate. The role included responsibility for security across the Leinster House complex and liaison with Gardaí, the Defence Forces and government departments.
The recruitment process remained subject to checks and ultimately to appointment by the Taoiseach. Standard Garda vetting found no criminal convictions. A separate national security clearance process was also commenced.
During that process, Gardaí learned that Kearney was the subject of an ongoing military police investigation concerning suspected offences involving Defence Forces ammunition. His home was searched under a District Court warrant in May 2021 and he was interviewed by military police in July. Kearney disputed the allegations and was entitled to the presumption of innocence in the later military proceedings.
Garda security officials waited for developments in that investigation and repeatedly told the Oireachtas Service that clearance remained outstanding. By 26 November 2021, with the post having been vacant for more than a year, the Service terminated Kearney’s candidature. Gardaí formally confirmed on 2 December that they were not then in a position to issue security clearance.
Ferriter J rejected Kearney’s argument that the additional security process was secret, unauthorised or procedurally unfair. The judge found that wider security vetting fell within An Garda Síochána’s statutory security functions and was an obvious and reasonable step for such a sensitive parliamentary position.
The court also rejected claims of unreasonable delay, interference with Kearney’s good name and alleged data-protection breaches. It noted that Kearney had been repeatedly told that security clearance remained ongoing and had not used the independent review mechanism provided in the recruitment process.
The judicial review proceedings were dismissed in their entirety.