Renewed political efforts are being made to determine who supported former Irish Olympic swimming coach George Gibney in his successful application for a US green card.
Mr Gibney, who now lives in Florida, was charged in Ireland in 1993 on 27 counts of indecent assault and unlawful carnal knowledge of young Irish swimmers in his care.
A judicial review the following year prevented the case from proceeding due to the length of time elapsed since the incidents were alleged to have taken place. Mr Gibney claimed he could not remember details of the incidents that went as far back as the 1960s.
Mr Gibney subsequently fled to Scotland and from there to the US, where he has been living for 20 years.
A Garda detective superintendent has been appointed to engage in a fact-finding mission in relation to the case.
Independent TD Maureen O'Sullivan said she would write to a number of US Congressmen and women seeking support for information from US federal agencies that would shed light on how Mr Gibney was permitted to enter, live and work in the US.
Appeal for transparency
“I am making contact with US congressman and women seeking support for an appeal for transparency from f
ederal agencies about how this person got into the US and who supported him there,” said Ms O’Sullivan, a TD for Dublin Central .
“In addition, I have spoken to the detective superintendent who is reviewing all of the paperwork. My hope would be that they might find something important that was not used in the 1990s but may be relevant now.”
