Despite the intervention of his doctors and lawyers, Charles Haughey has been ordered to attend at private sittings of the Moriarty Tribunal. The Chairman pointed out that had the former Taoiseach co-operated over the past two months, his evidence would probably have been completed by now. At his request, the Tribunal team met this morning with Mr Haughey's doctor, consultant urologist Peter McLean. Dr McLean is still of the view that his patient should not co-operate with the inquiry at all.
Despite this, the Chairman said that, having taken all legal advice and given his own observations of Mr Haughey as a witness, he proposes to examine him in private for one hour a day, four days a week in Dublin Castle. Mr Justice Moriarty said that it should not be thought that, "in what was neither a pleasant nor easy exercise of jurisdiction" he was ignoring the medical or humanitarian issues put to him.
The Chairman pointed out that Mr Haughey had already been offered the opportunity to use written questionnaires for the taking of evidence. Priority is to be given to certain issues which the Tribunal wishes to take up with Mr Haughey. It is not clear when the taking of evidence will begin. Transcripts are likely to be made available to the public.
