The Disclosures Tribunal has not upheld allegations made by retired Garda sergeant Paul Barry, that he was targeted or discredited by senior members of An Garda Síochána following the making of a protected disclosure.
Paul Barry alleged that attempts to transfer him to another garda station, refusals to authorise annual leave, and issues around the treatment of his sick leave for work-related stress, were among those which represented his being targeted.
The tribunal concluded that it was not difficult to understand how different interpretations of events could have arisen and noted occasions where "Sgt Barry had grounds for thinking the worst," however it did not uphold his complaints.
Mr Barry was attested as a member of An Garda Síochána on 8 October 1986 and was a sergeant in Mitchelstown Garda Station in County Cork for 16 years until his retirement in 2016.
He first contacted the tribunal on 24 January 2019.
His initial allegations were contained in a protected disclosure that he made on 2 October 2012, which consisted of "nine allegations of bullying and harassment" against Supt Michael Comyns.
"The final allegation accused the superintendent of wrongdoing by unlawfully interfering in the criminal investigation into an alleged case of sexual assault reported to Mitchelstown Garda Station in February 2012," the tribunal said.
The tribunal said that "it is not empowered to investigate the protected disclosure itself."
It noted that "in respect of the sexual assault investigation in February 2012, Sgt Barry did not make a complaint about Supt Comyns at the time and proceeded to complete the investigation and submit a file to the superintendent for transmission to the Director of Public Prosecutions. However, he avoided contact with the superintendent as much as he could."
