Whistleblower Garda granted permission to pursue case against commissioner over reduced sick pay

High Court reporters

Whistleblower Garda Nicky Keogh, who was the centre of a Protected Disclosure tribunal, has been granted permission by the High Court to pursue a judicial review against the Garda Commissioner over his reduced sick pay.

Garda Keogh (46), from Tullamore, Co Offaly, is a serving member of An Garda Síochána, who, in May 2014, made a protected disclosure alleging serving members of An Garda Síochána in Athlone were involved “in criminal activities in selling or dealing in class A drugs and the planting of significant quantities of such drugs on individuals”.

After Garda Keogh made his disclosure, he alleged that his treatment by superiors in Athlone Garda Station “changed significantly, whereby he was marginalised, undermined, isolated and demeaned persistently, which amounted to bullying and harassment”.

In his statement of grounds to the High Court seeking judicial review, Garda Keogh states that he joined the force in June 1999 and took no sick days from then until October 2011.

However, Garda Keogh states that he suffered from a musculo-skeletal injury in 2012, which resulted in him being off work for 51 days.

He then took further periods off work in 2012, 2013 and 2014 while receiving alcohol addiction treatment and was diagnosed with work-related stress.

Internal investigation

An internal investigation into the claims resulted in no action being taken against members accused of misconduct by Garda Keogh.

Garda Keogh alleges that an ombudsman investigation by GSOC “did not address the applicant’s complaint of bullying and harassment, his unfitness for work due to work-related stress and the consequent issues relating to the reduction of his salary”.

A Tribunal of Inquiry into the Garda Keogh’s protected disclosure was established in February 2017 and focused on the claims of bullying and harassment but also on the particular issue of Garda Keogh’s salary reduction during his time off sick for what he claimed was "work-related stress".

Wallace and Daly comments

The matter of both the protected disclosure and Garda Keogh’s long-term sick leave was addressed in the Dáil by now MEP Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan in May 2014 and then by former TDs Mick Wallace and Clare Daly in May 2018.

In July 2021, the tribunal, however, found no evidence of wrongdoing by gardaí regarding Gda Keogh’s claim he was harassed, isolated, victimised or bullied because of his disclosure.

Garda Keogh was deemed unfit for work in late 2014 and incorrectly placed on ‘temporary rehabilitation remuneration’, despite his own GP diagnosing him with long-term work-related stress in December 2015, he claims.

It is claimed that a Garda medical officer found Garda Keogh unfit for work due to a “long-standing and established clinical condition”.

Garda Keogh claims this is “clearly incorrect” and claims he was “mis-recorded” on Garda HR systems as being absent due to “mental health” but also as “flu/viral”.

Lawyers for Garda Keogh claim that his pay should not have been reduced in the context of the Disclosures Act of 2014 and claim that his complaints of bullying and harassment leading to work-related stress “were not properly investigated”.

Judicial review

At the High Court this week, Garda Keogh was granted leave for a judicial review hearing by Mr Justice Garrett Simons. Garda Keogh is seeking to quash the decision by the Garda Commissioner to end the “special arrangement” regarding Garda Keogh's full pay entitlements and record the applicant’s illness as “ordinary illness”.

Garda Keogh claims that he received an email from a superintendent on July 1st last year informing him that he would be recorded as being absent from work with “ordinary illness” from the previous June and that a chief superintendent had applied for ill-health retirement for him.

Letter

It is claimed that this letter states that on June 17th, 2024, Garda Keogh’s reinstated full pay was stopped, that from September he was to be put on half-pay and then received a lesser wage again from last December onwards.

Garda Keogh complains that no explanations or reasons for the decision have been disclosed to him and that he was not afforded a hearing on the matter.

Mr Justice Simons granted leave for the judicial review hearing to go ahead at the High Court and adjourned the matter to March 25th.