Four gardaí were suspended 'for no reason', court hears

Paul Baynham is taking the action against the Garda Commissioner on the basis of delay, that he has not received fair procedure, and that he was not treated the same as other colleagues.

Three other gardaí, John Shanahan, Niall Deegan, and Alan Griffin are taking similar actions.

All are based in the traffic corps of the Limerick division of the gardaí.

The High Court was told that in 2019 an investigation was commenced into criminal matters in respect of a senior garda in the area.

It emerged that the investigation turned out to be “ill-founded” but further investigation discovered that various gardaí had pulled traffic-related charges at the direction of senior officers.

This prompted the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI) to conduct a widespread investigation into the “squaring” of tickets, as the practice is known, the court was told.

From that, 198 files were opened. Over 2,000 statements were taken in the course of the investigation, 130 gardaí interviewed, and 36 files were sent to the DPP for decision.

The court was told that eight gardaí were suspended in November 2020 out of the 130 interviewed, but no reason was given as to why they were treated differently from their colleagues.

The court was told on Tuesday that one of the cases that Garda Baynham was investigated about concerned a ticket that had been issued for “bad parking”. Others centred on speeding and using a phone while driving.

Senior counsel Mark Harty, on behalf of Garda Baynham, repeatedly made the point to the court that those who were suspended were never given full explanations for the measure nor any reason as to why they had been treated differently than the “122 others” also interviewed by the NBCI.

No criminal proceedings have been brought against the four gardaí making an application and no disciplinary proceedings have been taken against them.

“No proper reasons were given as to why these men were identified and still there is no reason,” Mr Harty said.

“Not one affidavit (has been produced) as to why these members and not others were suspended.”

Affidavits

He pointed to affidavits on behalf of the commissioner which referenced the power to suspend members in the best interests of the force. 

“Is it that it might not be in the interests of An Garda Síochána to let it be known that there was a fruitless investigation by the NBCI for a number of years,” he said.

Opening the case for the commissioner, senior counsel Conor Power pointed out that criminal investigations into the “squaring” of tickets were ongoing.

He said operational issues had to be considered when deciding whether or not the suspensions were necessary.

He also said the file in relation to some members, submitted in July 2022, is still with the DPP and that the delay is not down to the commissioner.

Earlier, the court was told that this case involved the longest suspension in An Garda Síochána to have come before the courts for determination. 

The hearing continues on Wednesday.