Morris Tribunal: The text of a Bill providing for ombudsman-type powers for a new Garda inspectorate will be published within the next several days, the Morris Tribunal has been told.
Mr Dermot Cole, Assistant Secretary, Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, and currently on secondment to Foreign Affairs since January 1st, yesterday gave evidence to the tribunal.
The chairman was required to report on the handling of complaints made by the McBrearty family, but not into the operation of Garda complaints procedures in general, Mr Cole said.
This was because new legislation on Garda complaints was already being planned, and was being introduced to create an ombudsman-type board. An understanding had been reached with Garda organisations, he said.
"I'm not dealing directly with those issues, but they will be published in the next several days," he added. "It won't be just heads of a Bill, it will be the actual text of a Bill," he said.
"Donegal was different in that there were so many and varied allegations," Mr Cole said, adding that it was considered at one stage to have a separate commissioner investigate as new allegations multiplied.
Mr Cole was asked about his reaction when he first heard the allegation of gardaí planning bogus explosives finds, the subject of the current module.
"I formed the view this was part of a more general problem in Donegal," he said. "In the context of the other things in Donegal, it didn't come as a great surprise that this carry-on was taking place."
Asked what other things he meant, Mr Cole told the chairman, former High Court President Mr Justice Frederick Morris, he was referring to the Barron/McBrearty affair.
"What has emerged in Donegal is obviously a matter of serious concern," he said. The tribunal resumes on Monday.