It's reported this evening that a file with false allegations against Sergeant Maurice McCabe was created by a Sate agency "in error".

The Irish Examiner reports tonight that the Child and Family Agency, Túsla, was informed of allegations of misconduct by McCabe in 2013, and a file was created which was later sent to Gardaí.

However Sergeant McCabe was never questioned about the complaint and Tusla later attributed the false claim to "clerical error".

Both the Irish Examiner, and a similar report in The Irish Times, say that the claim was shared widely and was known to senior Gardaí.

However they say that McCabe only became aware of the report's existence in 2014 - during which time he was at the centre of media attention around his work in the area of penalty points - and only found out in 2016 about how widely it had circulated. 

In the Dáil this evening the Tánaiste, Frances Fitzgerald, says she has no problem making sure that any contacts between Gardaí and Túsla are investigated by the Charleton Inquiry, which will investigate the alleged smear campaign against McCabe.

Túsla is reportedly set to issue an apology to McCabe, though a spokeswoman said the agency could not comment on individual cases.

Regarding @mickcliff story on Túsla and Maurice McCabe (https://t.co/EJkWfRNuL0), Tánaiste told Dáil today she knew nothing of any such role pic.twitter.com/750QNBui2U

— Gavan Reilly (@gavreilly) February 9, 2017

Fianna Fáil TD John McGuinness - who secured the commitment from the Tánaiste in the Dáil - engaged with McCabe during this time as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee.

He says Túsla is now set to give a full apology to Maurice McCabe for its role in sharing the false claim.

He says a full investigation by the new Charleton Inquiry is an absolute must.