It is deeply disturbing that a garda investigation was carried out into the source of reports in the Irish Times concerning the case of a serving member of the force charged with domestic violence against his ex-wife, according to Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon.<\/p>\n
Deputy Gannon, who is the party\u2019s spokesperson on justice, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cLast week, Garda Trevor Bolger received a fully suspended three-month sentence after pleading guilty to assaulting his then wife in 2012.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am troubled by so many aspects of this case, not least the length of time it took his former wife to receive even a semblance of justice before the courts. This stands in stark contrast with the speed of garda efforts to uncover a journalist\u2019s sources when first reports of the court case appeared in the Irish Times more than five years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is baffling that garda\u00ed would be so concerned with such information when the media was fully entitled to cover a case already before the courts, albeit with some reporting restrictions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am highly dismayed by garda attempts \u2013 although ultimately unsuccessful \u2013 to obtain details of a respected reporter\u2019s sources. This approach has a chilling impact on journalism and can have a corrosive effect on one of our core democratic pillars.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt further heightens concerns about the Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na (Powers) Bill (2025), which was quietly announced by the government over the Christmas holidays. There are growing fears within media circles that garda\u00ed will have new powers to seize journalists\u2019 phones or devices under the proposed legislation.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, despite repeated calls, the Minister for Justice has so far failed to clarify if this will be case.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday\u2019s story in the Irish Times raises serious questions about the culture within An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na that allowed it to launch an investigation into a journalist\u2019s sources. Minister Jim O\u2019Callaghan must make a statement in the D\u00e1il on this matter and give assurances that it will not happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n
January 20, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It is deeply disturbing that a garda investigation was carried out into the source of reports in the Irish Times concerning the case of a serving member of the force charged with domestic violence against his ex-wife, according to Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon. Deputy Gannon, who is the party\u2019s spokesperson on justice, said: \u201cLast […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":15081,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[776,316,411,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-domestic-abuse","category-gary-gannon","category-justice","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n