Garda whistleblower scandal

In 2014, material revealed by two Garda Síochána (Irish police) whistleblowers, Maurice McCabe and John Wilson, as well as the handling of the material and of the whistleblowers, led directly to the resignation of Ireland's then Minister for Justice and Equality, Alan Shatter. It was also part of the background leading up to the resignation of the Garda Commissioner, Martin Callinan.

The ensuing scandal has helped contribute to:

It was one of a number of incidents at the time involving the Gardaí and the Minister for Justice and Equality.

Maurice McCabe is a Garda Sergeant, recognised for being a whistleblower on corruption within the Garda Síochána, Ireland's national police force.

McCabe was station sergeant in Bailieborough, County Cavan. After becoming concerned about an investigation into a serious assault he made a complaint, then some more, a number of which were upheld. After McCabe made use of the "confidential recipient" system to express his concerns, his district superior ordered him to cease use of the Garda Pulse system on 14 December 2012. McCabe had used the system to examine files linked to large-scale abuse of the penalty points system. On 30 December, two senior officers officially traveled from Westmeath to his house in Cavan, an unheard-of event in the force, to tell him they were restricting his access to the Pulse system.

McCabe later approached Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Transport Minister Leo Varadkar, who passed details on to Justice Minister Alan Shatter. Shatter asked for an internal garda inquiry into the penalty points complaints, with Assistant Commissioner John O'Mahoney failing to even interview McCabe. A letter from McCabe, read onto the Oireachtas record, said the way the matter had been handled had "destroyed me, my career and my family". Shatter later wrongly accused McCabe of refusing to co-operate with his inquiry, a claim for which McCabe unsuccessfully sought an apology.

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