Tribunal rejects William Hughes’s claims of targeting by senior garda officers

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The Disclosures Tribunal found that senior garda officers did not target or discredit retired Sergeant William Hughes because he made protected disclosures alleging wrongdoing in the force.

The proceedings were reported on 20 April 2023. Hughes had alleged a systems failure in garda investigations linked to the 2006 murder of Baiba Saulite in Swords, Co Dublin.

Mr Justice Sean Ryan found that Hughes’s concerns and mental health issues were genuine, but that there was no sufficient or realistic basis to connect the conduct he complained of with his disclosures.

The tribunal found that a disciplinary investigation into Hughes was justified. That investigation had exonerated him and found no breach of discipline.

The tribunal also rejected Hughes’s criticisms of the garda investigation into his complaints in 2009 and 2010. It made recommendations on work-related stress and found that internal garda investigations needed reform.