Morris tribunal: The Donegal Garda sergeant who was trenchantly criticised in the last three reports of the Morris tribunal failed to appear as a witness at yesterday's hearing.
The tribunal heard that Det Sgt John White was in hospital and that the reports' findings against him had had an adverse affect on his health and mental well-being.
Mr Justice Frederick Morris, the chairman, ordered that Det Sgt White's doctor, Dr Louis O'Carroll, a consultant psychiatrist, should appear today to explain his patient's condition. He was not satisfied that Det Sgt White was not capable of giving evidence at the tribunal.
The suspended detective was to have given evidence at the resumed inquiry into the arrest and detention of Róisín McConnell, one of 12 people wrongly arrested in connection with the death of cattle-dealer Richie Barron in 1996.
Det Sgt White was acquitted last July of charges relating to the planting of a shotgun at a Traveller site at Burnfoot, Co Donegal, in May 1998. He was also acquitted in 2005 of making false statements to gardaí and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
In August, Det Sgt White was criticised in all three Morris reports. Mr Justice Morris found he lied to the tribunal and that he planted a sawn-off shotgun at the Traveller site. He was also implicated in the planting of a hoax device on a mast.
Yesterday solicitor Paudge Dorrian said his client was in hospital. Mr Justice Morris asked if he knew where Det Sgt White was. Mr Dorrian said he did know but preferred not to disclose that in public as they did not want further "journalistic interference".
Tribunal lawyer Peter Charleton SC said a letter of September 12th from Det Sgt White's solicitor to the tribunal advised that he was undergoing medical treatment.
"Our client has been fully assessed by his consultant psychiatrist Dr Louis O'Carroll who has advised us that the findings of the tribunal in the recently published reports have had an extremely adverse affect on our client's health and mental well-being," the letter said.
It stated that Dr O'Carroll had also confirmed that Det Sgt White was medically unfit and that he would be positively unable to give evidence for the foreseeable future. Dr O'Carroll had arranged for him to be admitted for residential medical care.
The tribunal had replied that Det Sgt White would be called.
Mr Charleton said Det Sgt White had given an interview to RTÉ television the day of the Morris reports. It seemed in that interview he gave a hint that he would not be back to the tribunal.
Mr Justice Morris said he was told in correspondence that Det Sgt White's medical condition was such that he was not capable of attending the tribunal. "I am not satisfied, certainly not satisfied at the moment that this is so. I will only be satisfied if I learn satisfactory medical evidence to that effect."
There were two outstanding matters to be addressed by Det Sgt White: the allegations that while interrogating Ms McConnell he broke wind in her face and that he manhandled or pushed her. "It does not seem to me to be too hard for him to come in and deny these allegations, if that be the case," he said.