The Dáil has rejected by two votes a joint Opposition motion calling for a judicial inquiry into the McBrearty affair in Donegal. Earlier the house was adjourned twice before allegations against former Justice Minister Nora Owen were withdrawn by Independent TD Tom Gildea.
The Opposition had united to call for this inquiry into allegations of a campaign of Garda harassment of the McBrearty family, but their motion needed the support of the two Donegal independents Harry Blaney and Tom Gildea.
In a rare Dáil contribution Mr Gildea caused uproar by calling for a criminal investigation into Nora Owen's role as Justice Minister during the TV deflector campaign in which he had been a prominent figure in the 1996 and 1997.
Amid growing opposition protests Mr Gildea said that Mrs Owen had been the enthusiastic handmaiden of one of the companies involved in the dispute, CMI, and had received financial remuneration. The house was adjourned as the Ceann Comháirle was summoned and after a further adjournment Deputy Gildea withdrew his charges.
Winding up the debate Fine Gael leader Michael Noonan described the Independent deputy's intervention as a deliberate distraction. He said that confidence in the Gardaí around the country was ebbing away at a weekly rate because of the Minister’s failure to act.
When the vote was taken the Opposition motion failed with the House dividing 73 votes to 71 with the two Donegal independents supporting the Government.
