Four gardaí were suspended ‘for no reason’, court hears, these are Decent Gardai, many members, will tell you.

The court is hearing an application from one of the suspended gardaí to have his three-year-old suspension declared unlawful

Wed, 29 Nov, 2023 – 16:29

A High Court judge has said it is “difficult to comprehend” the lack of information provided to the court by the Garda Commissioner as to why a member has been suspended from the force for three years.

Ms Justice Siobhán Phelan said there is a duty of candour and an obligation for material to be put before the court, but “material is not here” regarding the process of deciding to repeatedly extend the suspension of Garda Paul Baynham with basic pay. Gda Baynham alleges he does not know the reasons for his suspension, and its continuation is unlawful.

The similar judicial review actions of Garda Alan Griffin, Garda Niall Deegan and Garda John Shanahan are travelling alongside Gda Baynham’s case, the hearing of which concluded on Wednesday. All four deny any wrongdoing and have at no point been arrested or charged.

Ms Justice Phelan said she will try to give judgment on the matter before Christmas.

The four gardaí were all attached to the Roads Policing Unit at Henry Street in Limerick before being suspended with basic pay in November 2020. The suspensions arose out of an investigation by the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation concerning the alleged “squaring” of fixed charge notices, where these would allegedly not be written up, not prosecuted in court or would be cancelled on the system.

The court heard previously that eight members were suspended out of some 130 members interviewed or investigated as part of the probe.

‘Game of cups’

On Wednesday, Ms Justice Phelan was told by senior counsel for the State and Garda commissioner that Gda Baynham knows the matters surrounding his suspension and has never asked the commissioner for more reasons. Conor Power SC said Gda Baynham has not asked internally for the disciplinary process to be expedited and did not make submissions to the commissioner regarding his suspension.

The judge said she was “struck” by the commissioner’s approach to information-sharing in this case which is “entirely different” to his approach in another cited as case law by Mr Power.

Mark Harty SC, for Gda Baynham, said material explaining the rationale for the suspensions has been “withheld” from his client and the court. He submitted that the commissioner “does not want the court to see this” reasoning.

“This game of cups, where the court is expected to find out exactly where the nut is hiding under the cups because it is not shown by the commissioner… That is crucial to the case,” he added.

Mr Power said Gda Baynham is in “no doubt” about why he was suspended and “knows the issues”.

Previously, Mr Power told the court that files, arising out of the bureau’s investigation, were sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) more than three years ago. The commissioner is awaiting a decision from the DPP, which is an independent office.

While this is an unfortunate situation, the delay is not of the commissioner’s making, he said.

Regulation

The court also heard submissions from both sides on Gda Baynham’s claim that a regulation of the An Garda Síochána (Discipline) Regulations of 2007 is unlawful and should be struck down.

He alleges the regulation empowering the commissioner to suspend a member where it is in the “interests of An Garda Síochána” is a discretion wider than that contemplated by the 2005 An Garda Síochána Act.

Mr Power confirmed to the judge that the issue has not been considered by the court before. He submitted the regulation is lawful.

Tue, 28 Nov, 2023 – 17:51

Four gardaí who were among 130 members of the force investigated over cancelling “penalty points” were suspended for no apparent reason, the High Court has been told.

The court is hearing an application from one of the suspended gardaí to have his three-year-old suspension declared unlawful.

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.