Connolly defends work with woman convicted of gun crime

Vivienne Clarke

Presidential candidate Catherine Connolly has said that she had no contact with the gardaí in relation to the hiring of a staff member who did not have Garda clearance because she had been convicted of a gun crime.

“I have had no contact with the gardaí in relation to this matter, absolutely none," she said.

Connolly said that the woman filled out her application form and declared "everything".

"Then there's a process. And that process went on for quite some time; it's not unusual. I've spoken to other people, and sometimes the process goes on for a year or two years.

"In this case, it went on. And I checked, I have emails that asked, where's the process at? It's going on for a very long time,” she told RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show.

There was no outcome to the vetting process in this case, she said.

“The process just went on and on. And in the end, the person left. I had no control of the process, no influence over the process. My only intervention was to say, when is the process going to be completed? Because it's very inconvenient. And in the end, the person left.”

Ms Connolly also denied that any person in a position of authority in Leinster House had advised her that it was not appropriate to employ the person in question.

“Absolutely not. I'll repeat again, the application went through its process. I was concerned it was taking so long because it was inconvenient," she said, "Because you can't get a pass, I had to meet the person every day, or somebody had to meet her to get her in and get a daily pass. But we couldn't get the other pass.

"A process has to take place, but it took inordinately long, and it didn't suit the person in the end," Ms Connolly said.

The individual left, finished their PhD, and "went on to better things," she added, "which is a very good example of rehabilitation and of the prison service working in this case and giving somebody a second chance.

"Now that person has been hauled into publicity because of my candidacy as president. It really is a shocking indictment.

“It's unfortunate that her name is in the press and that she's been hauled through this. She served her time in prison and she was recommended to me," Ms Connolly said.

The Independent presidential candidate added that the woman was "absolutely perfect for the job", and that Ms Connolly took her on for three days.

"Over the period of time, from day one, she filled out an application form, explained everything, and just the clearance process took some time, and in the end, she left of her own volition."

She was there for less than six months, Ms Connolly said.

Ms Connolly explained that the person had been recommended to her through her work as part of a committee that visited prisons to work with Republican prisoners.

The other members of the committee were Clare Daly, Éamon Ó Cuív, Maureen O'Sullivan, and Thomas Pringle.

“This woman was recommended to me, she had a gold standard in Irish, and she had done her time in prison. She had been a model prisoner," Ms Connolly said.

The woman was in Limerick before she was moved to Dóchas prison in Dublin, and Connolly stressed that she had checked if there was anything to be worried about regarding her.

Fianna Fáil TD Éamon Ó Cuív, “in particular,” and Clare Daly had recommended the person, she said.

When asked about the criminal history of the person, Ms Connolly said she abhorred violence, but that the person had served their time in prison.

“I also abhor hypocrisy. Here was this person who had done her time, realised she had done something wrong, was an absolute model prisoner. Started her PhD in the prisons and facilities were made for her. And she was looking to go back into the workforce. She was looking to complete her PhD. And so I gave her an opportunity over a number of months to do that," Ms Connolly said.

“If we have a prison system to protect the public on the one hand, and also to rehabilitate and to allow a prisoner back into society, then we must look at that.

"This was a person who had really done everything, realised what they had done was utterly wrong, rehabilitated themselves with the help of the services in the prison, carried out an MA, a PhD started in prison, since completed, and has gone on to greater things.

"And you know, I'm proud of that. I'm actually proud that this person has gone on to greater things. I absolutely regret that she's been dragged into this in such a public way. And it really, really lays bare our hypocrisy. If we believe in rehabilitation, if we believe in the work that Éamon Ó Cuív, Maureen O'Sullivan, Thomas Pringle do on their committees, going into prison.”

Ms Connolly denied that her decision to employ such a person in her Leinster House office called into question her judgement.

“Quite the contrary. I took a careful time to reflect on this. I discussed this with TDs who were part of a committee that visited Republican prisoners. I believe in rehabilitation. I believe in giving someone a chance in life.

“My whole life, public life, has been devoted to raising my voice for those that didn't have a chance and those that committed crimes, and then a chance for rehabilitation.”

Ms Connolly said it was irrelevant that she did not support the Special Criminal Court where the person in question had been convicted.

“That's immaterial. I respect whatever court is there. We comply with the rule of law and the courts that are there. There are many things I mightn't support, but that's the rule of law. And I'm a Democrat to my fingertips.”

Earlier, the Taoiseach criticised Ms Connolly for a “serious lack of judgment”.

Asked about the reports, Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said it was a “very serious matter”.

He told reporters at an event in Copenhagen that Éirígí, of which the woman was a member, was an organisation that “did everything to undermine the Irish peace process”.

He added: “That would indicate a very serious lack of judgment and I think Catherine Connolly needs to clarify that in its entirety and be fully transparent in respect of it.

“But it is a very, very serious issue as far as I’m concerned – I think most people would be.”

Sinn Féin finance spokesman Pearse Doherty said the proper procedures had been followed and that he had no questions for Ms Connolly on the matter.

Meanwhile, Mr Martin downplayed mistakes made by his party’s campaign for presidential candidate Jim Gavin.

Mr Gavin, who is chief operations officer at the Irish Aviation Authority and has served in the Defence Forces, had to acknowledge the incorrect use of drones in campaign videos and remove a picture from social media featuring Defence Forces chief of staff Rossa Mulcahy.