Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation Dail Éireann — 2026-01-21 ============================================================ Mary Lou McDonald (SF), Dublin Central The State not alone failed Garda Margaret Loftus; it actively protected her abuser, Garda Trevor Bolger. Margaret was subjected not alone to a prolonged, sustained and violent assault, as has been commented on in the public domain, but also to a sustained campaign of threat, intimidation and menace by Trevor Bolger. Yet, this man was promoted, given a firearm, given more responsibility and protected. This raises the most serious questions for An Garda Síochána, including its failure to investigate, its promotion of this individual and his ongoing employment by the State. It also raises a very serious question for the Director of Public Prosecutions. This man was charged with a section 2 assault, which is the most minor assault. He walked away with a suspended sentence of three months, not even a rap on the knuckles. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-21/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-31T01:00:51+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-01-21