Author: gavin

McDowell has been going on again about this apology that the State is going to make to the families in Donegal affected by Garda corruption.

Michael McDowell said yesterday the McBrearty family would be getting an apology from the State. The first thing they had to do was to allow the Morris tribunal to run its course so that the full number of things in respect of which an apology was due would be known by the public.

“I think it’s very, very clear from the attitude that I’ve adopted that I fully acknowledge that what was done to them was evil and wrong and that they are due an apology,” he said.

Asked if the Barrons would be getting an apology also, he replied: “The Barrons, the Gallaghers, the Peoples, the McConnells and many other people who were damaged and injured by the procedure.”

Meanwhile the impending legal action against the State will continue and the family of the late Richie Barron are not just demanding an apology:

The family including Mr Barron’s widow, Nora, their children and other members, have served legal papers. They are claiming negligence and dereliction of duty by the Minister for Justice, the Garda Commissioner, the Attorney General and the State, in failing to ensure a proper investigation into Mr Barron’s death in 1996 in Raphoe, Co Donegal.

They will seek compensation for trauma and suffering caused to them by grief and anxiety since he died.

“It is not about the money,” Mr Dorrian [Solicitor] added. “It is about the appalling treatment meted out to that family. Nobody paid the slightest attention or interest. They have been sidelined and their dignity has been eroded. They are entitled to the same consideration as any other family concerned in this horrible mess.”

The family of Richard Barron have begun legal action against the State:

Along with their High Court proceedings, the Barrons are demanding an apology from Justice Minister Michael McDowell and Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy for the way Mr Barron’s death was handled and his family’s treatment in the years that followed.

They also want a definitive ruling on the cause of Mr Barron’s death and say they are prepared to call for another inquest and assemble a fresh set of forensics experts if it will help them get to the truth.

The first protracted inquest into Mr Barron’s death two years ago reached an open verdict after finding the evidence inconclusive as to whether he was the victim of a hit-and-run, assault or murder but the second Morris Report, published earlier this month, concludes there was no murder and that a hit-and-run accident was to blame.

11 months after the first Morris Tribunal report, the Dail are finally discussing its implications. And still:

…opposition politicians claimed the Government was merely going through the motions as deputies would be confined to reading statements and no debate would be allowed or questions asked.

Labour will seek to have the Morris reports referred to the Oireachtas Justice Committee so that the commissioner, former ministers and justice officials can be invited for questioning. Fine Gael will ask that the passing of the new garda bill on reorganisation of the force be deferred until Justice Morris’s recommendations can be incorporated into it.

The Examiner also pose some questions:

Why has it taken 11 months for the Dail to discuss the tribunal reports?

Why are gardai criticised in the reports allowed retire without facing disciplinary proceedings?

How long before Justice Morris’s recommendations are implemented?

Why won’t tribunal terms of reference be widened to examine the role of current/former ministers, attorneys general, garda commissioners and DPPs?

Why can’t McBreartys have tribunal legal fees guaranteed like gardaa­?

Why was Frank McBrearty Jnr’s action against the State fought before settlement plans were suggested?

What will the Government do about the other 40 similar actions pending?

Why have the family of Richie Barron received no formal apology?

When was Richie Barron’s death reclassified as a hit-and-run, on whose instructions and on what basis?

Who killed Richie Barron and what efforts are being made to prosecute the person responsible?

I tend to agree with McBrearty on this one, I can see his logic:

Frank McBrearty jnr told The Irish Times his family’s legal representatives had worked on the tribunal for almost two years before the family withdrew from the proceedings in May 2004.

“They haven’t been paid a penny yet for that work and it may be another two years before they see any of the money depending on what challenges might be made [to their application for payment].” He said the tribunal would need to address a number of matters before his family would consider returning.

“We would have to be guaranteed all of our costs, just like the Garda Commissioner and the Minister for Justice. The terms of reference would also need to be widened to include the role of the State, the Attorney General, the commissioner, the Minister and the Department of Justice in what happened to us”.