Five gardaí who were the subject of a Garda Siochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) investigation over taped remarks about two female Corrib gas protesters will not face criminal charges.
Three gardaí have been exonerated, but GSOC is continuing its investigation into two of the gardaí in relation to possible disciplinary matters.
In a statement issued today, the commission said it has forwarded an interim report to Minister for Justice Alan Shatter. It was published this afternoon.
Asked about the report, Mr Shatter said he had not yet read it, but was concerned about some of the conclusions, especially as it appeared that the tape had been tampered with. "It is in interim report. I don't want to comment until I have read it," the Minister said. "The allegations are addressed in the report and I don't want to say anything that could reflect on any garda."
However, it is understood that the integrity of the tape section under investigation is not in question. NUI Maynooth has confirmed to The Irish Times that research material which did not relate to the pertinent piece of recording was removed before the video camera was handed over to the commission. This was in line with the NUI policy on research ethics and the Sociological Society of Ireland guidelines on research.
GSOC initiated its investigation in the public interest on April 5th last, in response to the release of a taped conversation among gardaí involved in policing the Corrib gas project on March 31st last.
The comments were recorded on a video camera confiscated from one protestor which was still switched on while a group of gardaí were travelling from a protest to Belmullet Garda station.
Several gardai are heard discussing the identity of two women from the Rossport Solidarity Camp, who they had arrested on a public road near the Shell pipeline works at Aughoose some minutes earlier.
When one Garda, surmised that one of the women "sounds like a Yank or Canadian", another garda said: "Well, whoever, we'll get immigration f**king on her."
The two gardai then joked about threatening to deport and rape the woman if she did not give her name and address to them. The gardaí also discussed concerns about safety issue and training
The two women were travelling in separate vehicles to Belmullet Garda station, and only discovered the recording when the camera was returned to them on their release without charge.
One of the two women, postgraduate student JerrieAnn Sullivan, said she believed the experience was "not unique" in north Mayo. The second woman did not make any public comment. The video camera was the property of NUI Maynooth, where Ms Sullivan was studying.
The Garda Commissioner issued an apology for the incident, and five gardaí were assigned to office duties in Castlebar - three of whom had been serving in Belmullet.
An internal Garda investigation was forwarded to the Garda Siochána Ombudsman Commission for its own inquiry into the incident in the public interest.
In its statement, the commission said that the public interest investigation was "not yet concluded", and "certain matters that have arisen are the subject of continuing investigation".
"The commission is of the view that these matters should be investigated fully, and has directed the designated officer to continue," it said.
"The commission is satisfied that the interim report has provided as complete a picture as possible of what happened at or near Aughoose, Erris, Co Mayo on March 31st, 2011," it said. "In the context of considerable public anxiety surrounding this incident, the commission has furnished the minister [for Justice] with a report outlining the progress to date."