The Guerin report features several tributes to Sgt Maurice McCabe with former managers and colleagues commending his work ethic, reliability and committment to policing.
In his report, Seán Guerin said no complex organisation such as the Garda can “expect to succeed in its task if it cannot find the means of heeding the voice of a member whose immediate supervisors hold him in the high regard in which Sgt McCabe was held”.
On his personal experience of Sgt McCabe, Guerin says he “made himself available to me upon request and freely and openly” discussed the matters included in the report.
“I wish to acknowledge that he co-operated fully with the review and did so in an unfailingly courteous and obliging manner,” he writes.
Mr Guerin said it was beyond the scope of the review to make any determination on the complaints made by Sgt McCabe but the documentation he examined “gives cause to share the concern expressed”. There was “cause for concern as to the adequacy of the investigations that have taken place into these complaints”, he added.
He said the “personal and professional consequences” experience of Sgt McCabe since making his complaints gave further cause for concern.
The Guerin review also includes comments from former colleagues and managers of Sgt McCabe taken from the 2008 report by Assistant Commissioner Derek Byrne and Chief Supt Terry McGinn into the treatment and alleged harrassment of Sgt McCabe after he reported his concerns to the then Garda confidential recipient.
The Byrne-McGinn report says “no malice on the part of Sgt McCabe is established in the making of his various complaints”and Mr Guerin said the time he spent with Sgt McCabe “has led me to no different conclusion”.
Retired supt Liam Hogan said Sgt McCabe was "excellent" in his role and offered "200 per cent commitment" and was one of the "most reliable members" in the district.
“I relied on him, I trusted him implicitly and I listened to his advice,” Mr Hogan said. “I was aware that he worked hard and long hours displaying absolute loyalty and commitment to An Garda Síochana, to the management team in the district, to his colleagues and to the people of Bailieboro.”
Mr Guerin cites comments of a number of district officers who had responsibility for the Bailieboro District between 2003 and 2010 on Sgt McCabe.
Chief Supt Gabriel McIntyre said he was “very positive and energetic in his position” and displayed a “strong work ethic with a strong emphasis in...providing a high standard of policing to the community”.
Det Supt Eugene Corcoran said he found Sgt McCabe to be "capable and enthusiastic in his approach to his duties" and that he would "assess his performance very positively".
“I found him to be very interested in his work and in ensuring that matter were attended to promptly.”
