A garda convicted of possessing cannabis was one of seven members of the force to lose their jobs in the last two years after criminal prosecutions were brought against them, The Irish Timeshas learned.
In five of the seven cases the dismissals have already been finalised. In the two other cases the dismissals are pending.
The seven members who have lost their jobs are among 31 members against whom criminal charges have been brought since the beginning of 2005.
These have faced a variety of charges including: drink driving and other motoring offences, theft, assault, harassment, liquor licensing offences and possession of cannabis.
Disciplinary Garda proceedings were begun against all 31 members resulting in a variety of sanctions up to and including dismissal. Some cases involve student gardaí who will not now be offered a contract on completion of their training.
Details of all of the cases have been obtained by The Irish Timesahead of a formal release by Garda headquarters, Phoenix Park, Dublin, today.
The decision to publicise details of the convictions comes after media reports yesterday which revealed seven members of the force had been convicted of drink-driving between January 2005 and last November.
Some of the reports said the Garda was unwilling to release details of disciplinary actions taken against the seven drink-drivers and details of the prosecutions taken against the other 24 members.
Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy is said to be annoyed at what he believes is the impression given in some of the reports that the Garda was unwilling to reveal the facts around the cases.
Mr Conroy has ordered the release of details today of all 31 criminal cases in a bid to address what he believes is a suggestion that the Garda is trying to conceal the information.
Senior sources last night said today's statement from headquarters is likely to state that gardaí accused of crimes are treated no differently to other groups, in that they are tried in open court with members of the media present at many hearings.
It will also point out that 31 prosecutions over two years among a force of 14,000 members is, while regrettable, not disproportionately high.
In respect of the seven drink-driving cases prosecutions were recorded in five cases with one case struck out and another pending. One of those convicted was later dismissed from the force after an internal Garda investigation. Fines of €300 and €400 were imposed in two other cases and the other four Garda disciplinary investigations are not yet completed.
The other criminal cases were in respect of other motoring offences, theft, assault, harassment, liquor licensing offences and possession of cannabis. In nine of these cases convictions were recorded. The provisions of the Probation of Offenders Act were applied in four cases. In five cases the prosecutions were dismissed, one case was withdrawn by the Director of Public Prosecutions and five other cases are pending.
As with the seven drink-driving cases, internal Garda disciplinary proceedings were begun in all cases.
