The Minister for Justice has dismissed calls from Fine Gael for his resignation over the biggest inquiry into alleged Garda corruption in the State. John O'Donoghue said that Jim Higgins' call did not merit a response. Mr Higgins made the call in the wake of a post mortem on the exhumed body of a County Donegal cattle dealer.
The results show that Richie Barron was the victim of a hit-and-run incident, not murder. Mr Higgins, Fine Gael's frontbench spokesman, said that John O'Donoghue has presided over a "charade of a Garda investigation" which has led to the arrest and charging of only one member of the force.
A spokesman for the Minister said that Mr O'Donoghue had informed the Oireachtas on several occasions that he was seeking the advice of the Attorney General on whether he could proceed with any inquiry while civil and criminal proceedings were taking place.
He also said that Jim Higgins should remind himself that the death of Richie Barron, the first post-mortem, and the initial Garda investigation began while Fine Gael's Nora Owen was Minister for Justice. There has been no comment from Garda Headquarters on the matter.
The conduct of the investigation into Mr Barron's death in October 1996 led in part to the biggest inquiry into alleged Garda corruption in the history of the State. It was originally thought Mr Barron, from Raphoe, was the victim of a hit and run but Gardaí later began a murder inquiry.
Members of another local Raphoe family, the McBreartys, were questioned in connection with Mr Barron's death but no charges were ever brought against them in relation to it. The McBreartys claim they were the victims of intense harassment and are now pursuing a High Court case on the matter.
A spokesman for the McBrearty family said they were delighted with this development and wished the Gardaí the best of luck with finding whoever was responsible for the hit-and-run. He said the McBreartys had gone through "five years of misery" and were still waiting for someone in authority to say they were sorry for what had been done to them.
Solicitors for the family have written to the Garda Commissioner, Pat Byrne, seeking an apology but say they have not yet received a satisfactory response. The McBreartys are pursuing High Court claims for false arrest, malicious prosecution, and breach of their constitutional rights.
