Dublin — The Taoiseach has rejected opposition calls to apologise or remove a senator at the centre of a Garda controversy, following a heated exchange during Taoiseach's Questions over a recently declassified investigatory report.

The exchange centred on an An Garda Siochana report published on 19 March into Chief Superintendent SHADOWDUDE_OPS, which examined allegations relating to the possible disclosure of sensitive information.

The report concluded that the officer should be relieved of his duties and that the matter should be referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions for assessment of a possible breach of the Official Secrets Act. It also said the Taoiseach's conduct should be referred for assessment in relation to possible government bias.

Opposition Pressure in the Chamber

During Taoiseach's Questions, Leader of the Opposition Sapphirinee challenged the Taoiseach over a section of the report which said a screenshot had surfaced during the Garda investigation showing him telling SHADOWDUDE_OPS to "Sue them and make publicity out of it".

She asked whether he believed his behaviour had been acceptable during a serious investigation and later asked if he would remove the senator involved and publicly apologise. Sapphirinee told the chamber the issue was about "this Taoiseach, his decisions and his judgment" and said the public expected questions of government bias to be treated seriously.

Key Exchange

The Taoiseach said he believed he had acted "in the best way a Taoiseach should take" and said he had accepted criticism from the Garda commissioners.

He added that he would not apologise "on a report which is flawed on its rot" and said he would not dismiss the senator because there was "no actual evidence of the alleged doing".

Report Findings and Disputed Language

The row was sharpened by the language used in the report itself. The Taoiseach launched a strong criticism of the document, saying he did not understand much of it and describing elements of it as "highly absurd".

He quoted passages from the report in the chamber, including lines referring to the "existence of witches", as he argued the document contained language that undermined its seriousness.

What the Report Said

  • The report says SHADOWDUDE_OPS should be relieved of his duties as Chief Superintendent.
  • It recommends a referral to the Director of Public Prosecutions over a possible breach of the Official Secrets Act.
  • It also recommends an assessment of the Taoiseach's conduct in relation to possible government bias.
  • On page 8, the report says a "witch hunt" accusation was "largely false as witches do not exist".
  • On page 10, it says of the Taoiseach's explanation that he had been joking: "It shall be noted that it was not funny."
  • On page 9, it records a recommendation that OisinUitheachair be sent "to a private school for learning manners".

Opposition figures have argued that such language undermines the seriousness of the document. But during the exchange, Sapphirinee argued that the central issue remained the Government's conduct during an active Garda investigation, rather than the tone of individual passages.

Taoiseach Rejects Interference Claims

The Taoiseach rejected suggestions of interference, saying the Government had neither intervened nor attempted to intervene. He said he had not spoken to anybody within An Garda Siochana or within his ministry about the investigation, and added that the Government respected investigations led by SIPOC, the Garda and other bodies.

According to the report, the controversy arose during Garda questioning of SHADOWDUDE_OPS on 18 March. The report says the officer produced a screenshot showing the Taoiseach saying "Sue them and make publicity about it", after which Commissioner Harris confronted him over the remark.

The Taoiseach's response, according to the report, was that he had "heard a few complaints about the investigation and joked about it". He declined to comment in detail on the legal aspects of the matter, saying there was an investigation ongoing "as far as I am aware".

Political Fallout Set to Continue

In its concluding section, the report states that An Garda Siochana will refer the Taoiseach's behaviour to the Director of Public Prosecutions for assessment of "possible bias inside the Government", alongside the alleged breach of the Official Secrets Act by SHADOWDUDE_OPS.

The controversy is now expected to continue on two fronts: the underlying allegations examined by Gardai, and the political fallout from the Taoiseach's remarks and the report's contested language.

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