This article is from page 14 of the 2006-04-25 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 14 JPG
GARDA management will decide soon if Pat Keating will be reinstated to full duties, according to the head of the Clare Garda Division.
Garda Keating was reinstated to the force last month, following a suspension lasting 19 months. However was confined to desk duties, as he faced a public order charge, which he was cleared of, last week.
Chief Superintendent Liam Quinn told The Clare People that a decision, regarding the garda’s full reinstatement, would be taken within weeks.
“That is something that will be looked at, in light of the court case,” he said.
Keating was suspended from the force after an allegation that he threatened his former girlfriend Eavan Drysdale, in August 2004.
He was found not guilty by a jury on that charge, at Ennis Circuit Court in February, and was subsequently reinstated, but his duties were constrained.
The Garda Representative Association (GRA) said Keating should be reinstated to the post he held prior to the allegations being made against him.
Central Executive member of the GRA, Tom Keane said “It has been a very tough couple of years for him. He has been proved innocent, without a shadow of a doubt. He is happy.
“He spent five days in the Circuit Court and one in the District. He has been totally exonerated by two courts. There is no reason why he should be confined to the desk,” he added.
The legal costs for Garda Keating’s five day Circuit Court trial in February were covered, in part, by the GRA. Gda Keating footed the bill for last week’s District Court case, which went into a fifth day.