A senior barrister representing mid-ranking gardaí has said the current submodule of the Morris tribunal should be halted until Frank McBrearty snr is cross-examined, and that the tribunal should report to the Oireachtas that there was no admissible evidence of wrongdoing in the tribunal unit covering the 62-year-old publican's arrest a decade ago.
Mr McBrearty walked out of the tribunal on Wednesday while being questioned by George Bermingham SC, who represents the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors and several named gardaí.
Mr Bermingham made his remarks in response to a request from the tribunal chairman, former High Court president Mr Justice Frederick Morris, who had asked counsel for gardaí if their clients wished to give evidence following Mr McBrearty's walkout.
In a submission to the tribunal, Mr Bermingham said that in his direct evidence, Mr McBrearty had availed of tribunal privilege to make "wild and unfounded allegations" and in "language designed to achieve soundbite status". Mr McBrearty, he said, was "a volatile and erratic individual" and was extended "a degree of latitude and indeed indulgence that is highly unusual and certainly in my experience unique".
The barrister said that Mr McBrearty's action denied his clients their constitutional rights, and submitted to Mr Justice Morris that it was, in the public interest, "time to call a halt".
"I invite you to report to the Oireachtas that in this submodule there is no admissible evidence of any wrongdoing on the part of any member of the Garda Síochána and that Mr McBrearty's actions have frustrated any worthwhile further inquiry," Mr Bermingham said.
The tribunal will resume on November 27th for the sub-module dealing with the detention of Mark McConnell.