Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026: Second Stage
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-22
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Rose Conway-Walsh (SF), Mayo

The fact that vital evidence that was given in the family law courts but was not allowed to be transferred over to be used in the criminal court is, I believe, a miscarriage of justice in its own right. A proper investigation was at last conducted and a file was sent to the DPP. The criminal Circuit Court granted Trevor Bolger full State legal aid throughout the whole court process. There was no means test or evaluation of assets carried out. He was suspended from an Garda Síochána with full pay. The criminal Circuit Court also accepted an application from Trevor Bolger to get a media gagging order on the court proceedings with full consent from the State. Margaret did not consent to this order and there was no legal basis for this order being made.
Eventually, the legal firm for the media got this application lifted so it could be reported on. Margaret was questioned twice by an Garda Síochána on articles that appeared in the media. Conor Lally, a journalist with The Irish Times , was also questioned. Margaret made contact with at least eight politicians over the years seeking help. Three of those were Ministers for justice at the time she made contact. One of those sent back an email to say he could not be of any assistance but was deeply troubled by what she had told him. Still, nothing was done.
The DPP took a plea deal. Before this plea deal, there was a disposition heard in court. Margaret was not happy with the way the State presented the case, so did some investigating herself. She realised the senior counsel assigned to the case by the State knew Trevor Bolger well and had worked with him on high profile drug cases previously. As Margaret queried this, the senior counsel removed herself from the case with no explanation given. Margaret's victim impact statement was censored by the defence and Trevor Bolger. She had to take out parts of it he was not happy with when the report was read out. Details of this case were reported by the media in 2019 and 2020.
Trevor Bolger pleaded guilty to a section 2 assault in the Circuit Court and was sentenced in January. The case was before the Circuit Court 55 times before this plea was entered. During these 55 times, Trevor Bolger was granted disclosure order after disclosure order to gain access to every inch of Margaret's life. He was facilitated to drag her through the courts a total of 58 times in all. Miriam O'Callaghan filmed an interview for "Prime Time" that was aired on Tuesday. Margaret has now left an Garda Síochána. Fiosrú is conducting a root and branch investigation into the case, attitudes to domestic violence and treatment of women on the force while Trevor was given a gun.
There are so many wider implications to this case that I am asking the Minister to meet with Margaret Loftus to address the critical issues she has raised and ensure that no other woman who is a victim of abuse from a member of an Garda Síochána is forced to go through this torturous journey.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-22/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:32+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-22