The Minister for Justice at the time of the 1970 arms trial, Des O'Malley, has issued a statement in response to last night's Prime Time programme which revealed new evidence about the attempt to import arms into the State. The programme unearthed a statement by a senior army officer that was edited to minimise the involvement of the then Minister for Defence, Jim Gibbons. Mr O'Malley's statement says that he wanted to make it clear that he did not engage in altering anyone's evidence, neither did he approve or condone anyone else doing so. Meanwhile, the son of the former Fianna Fáil Minister, Neil Blaney, has called for a public inquiry into the new evidence.
The current Minister for Justice, John O'Donoghue, told the Dáil tonight that matters raised by last night's Prime Time programme were a matter for concern. Speaking during an adjournment debate he said that given the short space of time it was not possible for him to enquire fully into the matter. However, he said that with the permission of the House he would like an opportunity to pursue the matter further on the understanding that he will make a further report to the House when he is in a position to do so.
The Minister was replying to The Fine Gael Deputy, Frances Fitzgerald who called for an enquiry into the revelations.
