A senior Garda officer has been arrested in an investigation into the unlawful disclosure of information to the media.
The investigation began last year following a report from former children’s ombudsman Emily Logan into the removal by gardaí of the two children from their families in October 2013.
The report stated that the media coverage of one of the case of one of the children began less than 24 hours after she was delivered up to the custody of the HSE.
It went on to say that all parties involved in the case “regarded this development as deeply troubling and highly regrettable”. The report said the information on the case leaked to the media more than likely came from a member of the Garda.
RTÉ reported the officer was arrested on Thursday morning on suspicion of breaching the Garda Síochana Act.
The officer, who is the most senior garda ever to be arrested as part of a criminal investigation, has been suspended from duty by the Garda commissioner.
In the report, Ms Logan was critical of the Garda’s handling of both cases in which members of the public expressed concern that two fair-haired children in Tallaght and Athlone did not resemble their parents.
The Garda press office did not comment on the arrest, which is said to have taken place in a Co Dublin Garda station on Thursday morning, but did say the investigation was ongoing.
“Immediately following the publication of the report from the Ombudsman for Children, the Commissioner appointed a chief superintendent to investigate issues raised in the report relating to personal and sensitive information appearing in the public domain. That investigation is on-going,” a spokesman said.
