As the question itself notes, the State settled the case taken against it by the two persons concerned, paid damages, and in a statement in court expressed regret at what had happened and accepted that the persons concerned were of unblemished character.
The Garda Commissioner has concluded his examination of the incident and the subsequent handling of the case and, while he does not propose to initiate disciplinary proceedings, particularly taking into account the lapse of time and the retirement of certain Garda personnel, his report accepts that the subsequent handling of this incident by members of the Garda Síochána left a lot to be desired. It is, of course, a matter for the commissioner to initiate such proceedings – I do not have a discretion to do so.
Perhaps the aspect of this case, apart from the original incident, where there is a conflict of accounts, that could most give rise to concern in people's minds is a perception of a potential conflict of interest in circumstances where a garda is involved in initiating a prosecution against a person for an assault on him or her, and that this is all the more so where that person has made a complaint against that garda. Most people would see such a situation, no matter what the facts, as inherently unsatisfactory, as I do.