The retirements of Superintendent Joseph Shelly and Detective Superintendent John McGinley, senior garda officers who were heavily criticised in the findings of the Morris Tribunal, have been met with anger this afternoon.
Supt Shelly, who was also scene commander at the Abbeylara siege which ended with the shooting dead of John Carthy by gardai, and Det Supt McGinley will receive pensions on their retirement at the end of the month.
Mr Frank McBrearty Jr, who was wrongly accused of the murder of cattle dealer Richie Barron, said today: "That's not good enough. Those two gardaí should be sacked. The person who is making them retire - [Garda Commissioner] Noel Conroy - should go along with them."
"I'm calling on the Government to set up an international taskforce to come in and investigate all these cases where false statements of confession were taken over the last 30 years."
Jim Higgins, Fine Gael MEP, said he was absolutely appalled that Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy would consider allowing the two senior officers to retire from the force "scot-free".
"The decision to allow two senior officers to retire so-called honourably having been the subject of scathing criticism in last week's Morris Tribunal is yet another example of what Mr Justice Morris described as circling the wagons, burying the head in the sand and one-for-all and all-for-one," Mr Higgins said.
"The situation is that by falling on their swords they are accepting the guilty verdict of Morris."
Mr Higgins called for the pair to be suspended until a file could be prepared for the DPP following an examination of the second Morris report.
"It shows quite clearly that the culture that Morris referred to ... is still prevalent unfortunately in the Phoenix Park," he said.
Marie Carthy, whose brother John was killed in the Abbeylara siege in 2000, said it was an absolute disgrace to allow Supt Shelly to retire with a pension.
"It's an insult to our family and the McBrearty family that he is allowed to retire with a pension," Ms Carthy said. "It's like giving him a pat on the back and saying well done for all the things he has done wrong all the mistakes he has made."
Ms Carthy said he should remain in the force until the Barr Tribunal had completed its work and force him to answer any allegations made.