DOCSLIB.ORG

The Normalising Power of Marriage Law: an Irish Genealogy, 1945-2010

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Normalising Power of Marriage Law: an Irish Genealogy, 1945-2010 Technological University Dublin ARROW@TU Dublin Other resources Law 2015-4 The Normalising Power of Marriage Law: An Irish Genealogy, 1945-2010 Deirdre McGowan Technological University Dublin, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://arrow.tudublin.ie/aaschlawoth Part of the Family Law Commons, Law and Society Commons, and the Legal History Commons Recommended Citation McGowan, D. (2015) The Normalising Power of Marriage Law: An Irish Genealogy, 1945-2010 Thesis submitted for PhD, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, 2015. This Theses, Ph.D is brought to you for free and open access by the Law at ARROW@TU Dublin. It has been accepted for inclusion in Other resources by an authorized administrator of ARROW@TU Dublin. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License Funder: National University of Ireland, Maynooth The Normalising Power of Marriage Law: An Irish Genealogy, 1945 – 2010. Deirdre Mc Gowan. Thesis submitted for PhD. National University of Ireland, Maynooth. Department of Law. September 2014. Head of Department: Professor Michael Doherty. Supervisors: Dr Neil Maddox, Dr Rebecca King-O’Riain. Contents Contents ................................................................................................................... 1 .................................................................................................................................. 1 Summary ................................................................................................................. 4 Acknowledgments ................................................................................................... 6 Table of Cases ......................................................................................................... 7 Ireland ................................................................................................................... 7 England and Wales ............................................................................................... 8 European Court of Human Rights ........................................................................ 9 United States ......................................................................................................... 9 Table of Legislation .............................................................................................. 10 Irish Statutes ....................................................................................................... 10 Irish Statutory Instruments.................................................................................. 12 United Kingdom Statutes .................................................................................... 13 United Kingdom Statutory Instruments .............................................................. 13 German Statutes .................................................................................................. 13 International Conventions ................................................................................... 13 European Union Treaties .................................................................................... 13 European Union Directives ................................................................................. 13 Constitution of the Irish Free State 1922 ............................................................ 13 Constitution of Ireland 1937 ............................................................................... 14 Constitution of the United States of America ..................................................... 14 One - Introduction ................................................................................................ 15 1.1 Michel Foucault and the Functions of Marriage Law................................... 18 1.2 Marriage Law ................................................................................................ 21 1.3 An Irish Experience ...................................................................................... 22 1 1.4 Outline of Thesis ........................................................................................... 25 1.5 Irish Marriage Law before 1970 ................................................................... 30 1.6 Conclusion. ................................................................................................... 50 Two - Marriage Law Literature .......................................................................... 52 2.1 Juridical Power ............................................................................................. 53 2.2 Legal Scholarship and Limits to Power ........................................................ 56 2.3 Opposing Tradition and Modernity .............................................................. 57 2.4 Public Law or Private Law. .......................................................................... 66 2.5 Feminist Approaches. ................................................................................... 73 2.6 Beyond the Juridical ..................................................................................... 78 2.7 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 85 Three - Theoretical Framework .......................................................................... 88 3.1 Foucault and Power ...................................................................................... 89 3.2 Power/Knowledge Configurations ................................................................ 96 3.3 Securing Bio-political objectives - Government ........................................ 103 3.4 ‘Law’ and Foucault. .................................................................................... 108 3.5 Analysing Marriage Law ............................................................................ 120 3.6 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 122 Four - Method ..................................................................................................... 125 4.1 A Methodological Approach ...................................................................... 128 4.2 Genealogy, an Historical Methodology ...................................................... 130 4.3 Analysing Power Relationships .................................................................. 134 4.4 Doing Genealogy and Discourse analysis .................................................. 143 4.5 Building the Analysis.................................................................................. 148 4.6 Conclusion. ................................................................................................. 150 Five – Desertion and Maintenance 1945 - 1976 ............................................... 152 5.1 Marriage as an Unproblematic Field of Experience. .................................. 154 5.2 Governing the Social – Problematising Marriage....................................... 164 5.3 The Deserted Wife ...................................................................................... 168 5.4 Reforming Marriage Law ........................................................................... 179 5.5 The Power Effects of Marriage Law Reform ............................................. 186 5.6 New Sources of Political Knowledge ......................................................... 192 5.7 Conclusion. ................................................................................................. 195 2 Six – Marriage Breakdown 1976 - 1990 ................................................... 198 6.1 Governing the Social through Economic Decline ...................................... 199 6.2 The Problem with Marriage ........................................................................ 206 6.3 Protecting Marriage – A New Reform Imperative. .................................... 211 6.4 Implementing the Marriage-Saving Objective ........................................... 222 6.5 Political Strategies for Protecting Marriage................................................ 229 6.6 Marriage-Saving Law ................................................................................. 233 6.7 The Power Effects of Marriage Law........................................................... 237 6.8 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 240 Seven – Marriage-Saving Divorce 1991 - 1997 ................................................ 243 7.1 Economic Improvement .............................................................................. 244 7.2 The Persistence of Dependency-Model Marriage ...................................... 250 7.3 Alternative Ways of Knowing about Marriage........................................... 262 7.4 Saving Marriage with Divorce .................................................................... 267 7.5 The Effects of Marriage Law ...................................................................... 276 7.6 Shifting knowledge ..................................................................................... 291 7.7 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 292 Eight – Rationalising Relationships 1997 - 2010 .............................................. 296 8.1 Ensuring
Load more

Recommended publications
  • ROSIE Study Shows Positive Impact of Treatment of Men Reporting 6 of 12 Selected Symptoms 3 Cocaine-Related Prosecutions of Mental Illness Experienced by Drug Users
    Issue 19 Autumn 2006 drugnetIRelaND Newsletter of the Drug Misuse Research Division Directory of courses and ROSIE study shows positive training programmes on drug misuse 2006 impact of treatment New directory compiled by the NDC – see page 27. On 11 September 2006, Noel Ahern TD, Minister of State with responsibility for drugs strategy, launched the report of findings from the Research Outcomes Study in Ireland (ROSIE).1 A team at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Your views on Drugnet completed the study on behalf of the National Ireland Advisory Committee on Drugs (NACD). This report focuses on outcomes for adult opiate users at one – results of readers year following entry to treatment. Minister Ahern welcomed ‘this timely research which provides survey on page 26. much needed information on how well people do when they go for drug treatment’. Dr Des Corrigan, chairperson of the NACD, reiterated the report’s main conclusion – ‘that investment in opiate treatment services leads to benefits to the > Cocaine eclipses individual drug user, to their family and to the rest of the community and that this investment must heroin be continued’. At baseline, the study recruited 404 opiate users aged 18 years or over entering treatment > Driving under the at inpatient facilities (hospitals, residential influence programmes and prisons) or outpatient settings (community-based clinics, health board clinics and general practitioners). The opiate users selected were entering treatment for the first time, or were Dr Catherine Comiskey, Principal > Politicians and the returning to treatment after a period of absence, at Investigator, presenting the first findings any one of 54 services nationwide.
    [Show full text]
  • SN 5900 Gay and Lesbian 'Marriage': an Exploration of the Meanings and Significance of Legitimating Same Sex Relationships, 2003-2006 Depositor: Smart, C
    UK Data Archive Study Number 5900 Gay and Lesbian 'Marriage': an Exploration of the Meanings and Significance of Legitimating Same Sex Relationships, 2003-2006 USER GUIDE How did you get here? Narratives of lived experience • How did you get together? • When did you first think about having a ceremony? • What are the advantages and disadvantages of the option you’ve chosen? (link to standpoint) • What made you decide to have some kind of ceremony? • Are you both of the same mind? Tell me about the ceremony • Did you have a ceremony? If not, why not? • How did it happen? •Vows • Rings • Readings • Photos / Videos - outfits • Order of service • Who was involved? • Who played what role in the ceremony? Nature of the relationship • Did either of you propose? • Romance / love •Commitment • Is your ceremony about love and romance? •Security • So, how would you describe your relationship? • Do you hold hands in public? • Does this depend on where you are? Why? • How open are you about your relationship in your local area? Finance and Legal • How do you organise your finances? • Were your finances a factor in deciding to register your partnership? • Have you made any legal provisions of any sort? • Have you considered what would happen if you separate? (CP would require a legal separation) • Looking far into the future, have you talked about / do you talk about what will happen when one of you dies? • Wills, guardianship, ownership of property, pension, living wills Recognition • Do you think the ceremony offers recognition? •Family •Social •
    [Show full text]
  • Irish Political Review, January, 2011
    Of Morality & Corruption Ireland & Israel Another PD Budget! Brendan Clifford Philip O'Connor Labour Comment page 16 page 23 back page IRISH POLITICAL REVIEW January 2011 Vol.26, No.1 ISSN 0790-7672 and Northern Star incorporating Workers' Weekly Vol.25 No.1 ISSN 954-5891 Economic Mindgames Irish Budget 2011 To Default or Not to Default? that is the question facing the Irish democracy at present. In normal circumstances this would be Should Ireland become the first Euro-zone country to renege on its debts? The bank debt considered an awful budget. But the cir- in question has largely been incurred by private institutions of the capitalist system, cumstances are not normal. Our current which. made plenty money for themselves when times were good—which adds a budget deficit has ballooned to 11.6% of piquancy to the choice ahead. GDP (Gross Domestic Product) excluding As Irish Congress of Trade Unions General Secretary David Begg has pointed out, the bank debt (over 30% when the once-off Banks have been reckless. The net foreign debt of the Irish banking sector was 10% of bank recapitalisation is taken into account). Gross Domestic Product in 2003. By 2008 it had risen to 60%. And he adds: "They lied Our State debt to GDP is set to increase to about their exposure" (Irish Times, 13.12.10). just over 100% in the coming years. A few When the world financial crisis sapped investor confidence, and cut off the supply of years ago our State debt was one of the funds to banks across the world, the Irish banks threatened to become insolvent as private lowest, but now it is one of the highest, institutions.
    [Show full text]
  • Table of Contents
    CONTENTS Acknowledgements v Contributors ix Introduction 1 MAVIS MACLEAN Part I Framing Family Law 1 Personal Obligations JOHN EEKELAAR 9 2 Basic Values and Family Law in Recent Judgments of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany WOLFGANG VOEGELI 27 3 Family Values, Friendship Values: Opposition or Continuity? MALGORZATA FUSZARA and JACEK KURCZEWSKI 45 4 The Changing Context for the Obligation to Care and to Earn JANE LEWIS 59 Part II Regulating New Forms of Relationship Between Adults and Children 5 Changing Ways, New Technologies and the Devaluation of the Genetic Connection to Children JULIE SHAPIRO 81 6 Can Co-Parenting be Enforced? Family Law Reform and Family Life in France LAURA CARDIA VONÈCHE and BENOIT BASTARD 95 7 Supporting Conflicted Post-Divorce Parenting KATRIN MUELLER-JOHNSON 107 8 Litigation in the Shadow of Mediation: Supporting Children in Sweden JOHANNA SCHIRATZKI 123 9 Changing Commitments: A Study of Close Kin after Divorce in England CAROL SMART 137 Part III Regulating New Forms of Relationships Between Adults 10 Targeting the Exclusionary Impact of Family Law LISA GLENNON 157 11 Registered Partnerships for Same-Sex Couples in Switzerland: Constructing a New Model of Family Relationships MICHELLE COTTIER 181 viii Contents 12 Same-Sex Relationships in Italy VALERIA MAZZOTTA 201 13 Cohabitation: The Ideological Debate in Spain TERESA PICONTÓ NOVALES 221 Part IV. A Regulating the Relationships Between Adult Children and Elderly Parents 14 Maintenance of the Aged by their Adult Children: an Adequate Legal Institution? JEAN VAN HOUTTE and JEF BREDA 243 15 Obligations of Grown-Up Children to their Elderly Parents: Bulgarian Legislation and Practice VELINA TODOROVA 257 Part IV.
    [Show full text]
  • Guides Irish in Michigan
    IRISH GUIDES Basic guide to Irish records for family history, by Brian Mitchell, Geneal. R 929.3415 M692b. Bibliography of Irish family history, by Edward MacLysaght, Geneal. R 929.209415 M226b 1982. Burke's Irish family records, by Bernard Burke, Geneal. R 929.72 B917 1976. Directory of Irish archives, by Seamus Helferty & Raymond Refausse, Geneal. R 027.0415 D628 1993. A guide to Irish parish registers, by Brian Mitchell, Geneal. R 929.3415 M692g : 1/96. In search of your British & Irish roots: a complete guide to tracing your English, Welsh, Scottish & Irish ancestors, by Angus Baxter, Geneal. R929.1072 B333i. Irish and Scotch-Irish ancestral research : a guide to the genealogical records, methods and sources in Ireland,by Margaret Dickson Falley, Geneal. R 929.3415 F192i v.1-2. Irish church records : their history, availability, and use in family and local history research, by James G. Ryan, Geneal. R 929.3415 Ir4 : 9/96. Irish genealogy : a record finder, Donal F. Begley, Geneal. R 929.1072 Ir4 : 3/93. The Irish in America : immigration, land, probate, administrations, birth, marriage, and burial records of the Irish in America in and about the eighteenth century, by Michael Joseph O'Brien, Geneal. R 929.1 Ob6i. Irish records : sources for family & local history, by James G. Ryan, Geneal. R 929.3415 R955i. More Irish families, by Edward MacLysaght, Geneal. R 929.1 M226m. Pocket guide to Irish genealogy, by Brian Mitchell, Geneal. R 929.1072 M692p : 9/92. A simple guide to Irish genealogy, by Wallace Clare, Geneal. R 929.1 C541s 1966.
    [Show full text]
  • Papers of Gemma Hussey P179 Ucd Archives
    PAPERS OF GEMMA HUSSEY P179 UCD ARCHIVES [email protected] www.ucd.ie/archives T + 353 1 716 7555 © 2016 University College Dublin. All rights reserved ii CONTENTS CONTEXT Biographical History iv Archival History vi CONTENT AND STRUCTURE Scope and Content vii System of Arrangement ix CONDITIONS OF ACCESS AND USE Access xi Language xi Finding Aid xi DESCRIPTION CONTROL Archivist’s Note xi ALLIED MATERIALS Allied Collections in UCD Archives xi Published Material xi iii CONTEXT Biographical History Gemma Hussey nee Moran was born on 11 November 1938. She grew up in Bray, Co. Wicklow and was educated at the local Loreto school and by the Sacred Heart nuns in Mount Anville, Goatstown, Co. Dublin. She obtained an arts degree from University College Dublin and went on to run a successful language school along with her business partner Maureen Concannon from 1963 to 1974. She is married to Dermot (Derry) Hussey and has one son and two daughters. Gemma Hussey has a strong interest in arts and culture and in 1974 she was appointed to the board of the Abbey Theatre serving as a director until 1978. As a director Gemma Hussey was involved in the development of policy for the theatre as well as attending performances and reviewing scripts submitted by playwrights. In 1977 she became one of the directors of TEAM, (the Irish Theatre in Education Group) an initiative that emerged from the Young Abbey in September 1975 and founded by Joe Dowling. It was aimed at bringing theatre and theatre performance into the lives of children and young adults.
    [Show full text]
  • Genre and Identity in British and Irish National Histories, 1541-1691
    “NO ROOM IN HISTORY”: GENRE AND IDENTIY IN BRITISH AND IRISH NATIONAL HISTORIES, 1541-1691 A dissertation presented by Sarah Elizabeth Connell to The Department of English In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the field of English Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts April 2014 1 “NO ROOM IN HISTORY”: GENRE AND IDENTIY IN BRITISH AND IRISH NATIONAL HISTORIES, 1541-1691 by Sarah Elizabeth Connell ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities of Northeastern University April 2014 2 ABSTRACT In this project, I build on the scholarship that has challenged the historiographic revolution model to question the valorization of the early modern humanist narrative history’s sophistication and historiographic advancement in direct relation to its concerted efforts to shed the purportedly pious, credulous, and naïve materials and methods of medieval history. As I demonstrate, the methodologies available to early modern historians, many of which were developed by medieval chroniclers, were extraordinary flexible, able to meet a large number of scholarly and political needs. I argue that many early modern historians worked with medieval texts and genres not because they had yet to learn more sophisticated models for representing the past, but rather because one of the most effective ways that these writers dealt with the political and religious exigencies of their times was by adapting the practices, genres, and materials of medieval history. I demonstrate that the early modern national history was capable of supporting multiple genres and reading modes; in fact, many of these histories reflect their authors’ conviction that authentic past narratives required genres with varying levels of facticity.
    [Show full text]
  • Looking for Love in the Legal Discourse of Marriage
    Looking for Love in the Legal Discourse of Marriage Looking for Love in the Legal Discourse of Marriage Renata Grossi Published by ANU Press The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200, Australia Email: [email protected] This title is also available online at http://press.anu.edu.au National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Author: Grossi, Renata, author. Title: Looking for love in the legal discourse of marriage / Renata Grossi. ISBN: 9781925021790 (paperback) 9781925021820 (ebook) Subjects: Marriage. Love. Marriage law. Husband and wife. Same-sex marriage. Dewey Number: 306.872 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Cover design by Nic Welbourn and layout by ANU Press Cover image: Ali and David asleep 12.01am-12.31 from the Journey to Morning Series by Blaide Lallemand and Hilary Cuerden-Clifford. Printed by Griffin Press This edition © 2014 ANU Press Contents Acknowledgements . vii Introduction . 1 Framing the Questions of the Book . 3 The Importance of Law and Emotion Scholarship . 3 The Meaning of Love . 9 Outline of the Book . 15 1. Love and Marriage . 17 Introduction . 17 The Common Law of Marriage . 17 Nineteenth-Century Reform . 21 Twentieth-Century Reform . 23 The Meanings of Marriage: Holy Estate, Oppressive Patriarchy, Equal Love . 26 Consequences of the Love Marriage (The Feminist Critique of Love) . 31 Conclusion . 37 2. The Diminishing Significance of Sexual Intercourse . 39 Introduction . 39 The Old Discourse of Sex and Marriage .
    [Show full text]
  • An Chomhairle Ealaíon
    An Chomhairle Ealaíon An Cúigiú Tuarascáil Bhliantúil is Triocha maille le cuntais don bhliain dár chríoch 31ú Nollag 1986. Tiolacadh don Rialtas agus leagadh faoi bhráid gach Tí den Oireachtas de bhun Altanna 6 (3) agus 7 (1) den Acht Ealaíon 1951. Thirty-fifth Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31st December 1986. Presented to the Government and laid before each House of the Oireachtas pursuant to Sections 6 (3) and 7 (1) of the Arts Act 1951. ISBN 0 906627 176 ISSN 0790-1593 The Arts Council regrets that this Report for 1986, which was ready for printing in July 1987, could not be released until the Comptroller and Auditor General had reported on the Council's 1986 Accounts. Draft Accounts were submitted for audit in February 1987. The Comptroller and Auditor General's Report was received on 7th March 1988. Members Máirtín McCullough, Chairman John Banville Vivienne Bogan David Byers Patrick Dawson Maire de Paor Bríd Dukes Vincent Ferguson Mairéad Furlong Garry Hynes Barry McGovern Rosemarie Mulcahy (from August 1986) Tom Munnelly (from February 1986) Patrick J. Murphy Sean P Mórdha Michael Smith Michael Taylor (July 1987) Staff Director Adrian Munnelly Officers Literature, Arts Centres and Festivals, Community Arts Laurence Cassidy Visual Arts Medb Ruane Visual Arts/Exhibitions and Film John Hunt Drama and Personnel Phelim Donlon Music and Opera Patricia Quinn Traditional Arts and Administration Dermot McLaughlin (from July 1986) Regions, Research, Information Marian Fitzgibbon Education and Dance Martin Drury Finance David McConnell Executive Assistants Kevin Healy Nuala O'Byrne Bernadette O'Leary Secretarial Assistants Suzanne Quinn Patricia Moore Jennifer Traynor Mary Cloake (ACE) Mary Hickey Paula Harold Receptionist Kathryn Cahille 70 Merrion Square, Dublin 2 Telephone: (01) 611840 (July 1987) An Chomhairle Ealaíon An Chomhairle Ealaíon/The Arts Council is an independent body set up under the Arts Acts 1951 and 1973 to promote and assist the arts.
    [Show full text]
  • Defence Forces Review 2020 Defence Forces Review 2020
    Defence Forces Review 2020 Defence Forces Review 2020 ISSN 1649-7066 DISCLAIMER The material and views expressed in these papers are those of the authors, which have been subject to academic peer review, and do not indicate official approval of the Defence Forces or the Department of Defence. Published for the Military Authorities by the Public Relations Section at the Chief of Staff’s Branch, and printed at the Defence Forces Printing Press, Infirmary Road, Dublin 7. © Copyright in accordance with Section 56 of the Copyright Act, 1963, Section 7 of the University of Limerick Act, 1989 and Section 6 of the Dublin University Act, 1989. 1 Launch of the Defence Forces Review In conjunction with an Academic Seminar Dublin City University, 3rd December, 2020 Defence Forces Review 2020 Preface “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” (Harry Truman, US President 1945 – ‘53) Building on the success of last year’s Review, launch and positive reaction 2020’s Review is themed ‘The global island: Strategic implications for Irish defence planning in the evolving geopolitical landscape.’ This is a pertinent topic in light of the Defence Commission proposed in the 2020 Programme for Government, which is set to look at “the medium- and longer term defence requirements of the State…” The Defence Forces Review provides a forum in which contributors can present their research and facilitate discussion on a wide range of defence-related matters for the benefit of the wider Defence Community in Ireland and beyond. Sadly, due to Covid 19 restrictions we will be unable to have a normal launch of the Review.
    [Show full text]
  • The Power of Feminist Judgments? Feminist Legal Studies, 20 (2)
    Kent Academic Repository Full text document (pdf) Citation for published version Hunter, Rosemary (2012) The Power of Feminist Judgments? Feminist Legal Studies, 20 (2). pp. 135-148. ISSN 0966-3622. DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/s10691-012-9202-0 Link to record in KAR http://kar.kent.ac.uk/35675/ Document Version Author's Accepted Manuscript Copyright & reuse Content in the Kent Academic Repository is made available for research purposes. Unless otherwise stated all content is protected by copyright and in the absence of an open licence (eg Creative Commons), permissions for further reuse of content should be sought from the publisher, author or other copyright holder. Versions of research The version in the Kent Academic Repository may differ from the final published version. Users are advised to check http://kar.kent.ac.uk for the status of the paper. Users should always cite the published version of record. Enquiries For any further enquiries regarding the licence status of this document, please contact: [email protected] If you believe this document infringes copyright then please contact the KAR admin team with the take-down information provided at http://kar.kent.ac.uk/contact.html Published in Feminist Legal Studies Vol 20, No 2 (2012) 1 DOI 0.1007/s10691-012-9202-0 ________________________________________________________________________ The Power of Feminist Judgments? Rosemary Hunter Abstract Recent years have seen the advent of two feminist judgment-writing projects, the Women’s Court of Canada (WCC), and the Feminist Judgments Project (FJP) in England. This article analyses these projects in light of Carol Smart’s feminist critique of law and legal reform and her proposed feminist strategies in Feminism and the Power of Law (1989).
    [Show full text]
  • Statement by Alan Shatter, Former Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence (2011-2014) on Publication of the O'higgins Commission Report
    Statement by Alan Shatter, former Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence (2011-2014) on publication of the O'Higgins Commission Report Shatter welcomes Report's findings I want to thank Mr Justice Kevin O'Higgins and his team for the manner in which the Commission's investigation was conducted, their careful and thorough approach to establish the truth and to ensure the application of fair procedures. I welcome that the O'Higgins Commission, having conducted an independent sworn statutory Commission of Investigation, has concluded that, when Minister for Justice, I took "very seriously" the complaints and allegations of 23rd January 2012, made by Sgt Maurice McCabe through the Confidential Recipient and that there were "compelling considerations" which justified my response to them. (These are detailed in Para 13.123 & 124 of the Commission's Report). Contrary to the Guerin Report's assertion that I failed "to heed the voice" of Sgt McCabe, I also welcome that the O'Higgins Commission found that I had "very substantial concerns" about Sgt McCabes' complaints and that at all times I dealt "professionally", "promptly", "reasonably" and "appropriately" with them. Moreover, contrary to the Guerin Report, the O'Higgins Commission also found that I was "intimately" aware of the relevant applicable legislation, as were officials in the Department of Justice. The O'Higgins Commission also rejects the contention of Sgt McCabe, given credence in the Guerin Report, that in my initially seeking a report from the Garda Commissioner on the serious allegations made by Sgt McCabe I was asking the Commissioner to "investigate himself". The Commission concludes that my doing so was "an obvious, prudent and sensible thing to do" and had I "acted otherwise" I would have been "open to justified criticism".
    [Show full text]