Mr James Gogarty asked for Garda security to be withdrawn the day after he completed giving his evidence at the tribunal, his counsel said yesterday. Mr Gogarty and his family had been receiving 24-hour Garda protection since January 1998 on the order of the tribunal chairman.
Mr Brian O'Moore SC, for Mr Gogarty, cross-examining Det Supt John McElligott, asked if he was aware that Mr Gogarty sought security withdrawal the day after his evidence concluded. Det Supt McElligott said he was not.
Asked about Mr Gogarty not giving a statement about his allegations on planning corruption to gardai, Det Supt McElligott said he thought that all along Mr Gogarty had his eye on a tribunal. "Once the tribunal avenue came on line, we fell off the edge, so to speak," he said.
Mr Gogarty said he would make a specific statement principally for the tribunal, Mr O'Moore said. Det Supt McElligott said that Mr Gogarty had said if and when gardai were placed on duty at his house, they would get a copy of his statement to the tribunal.
Det Supt McElligott had written to Mr Gogarty's solicitor, Mr Kevin Neary, asking about the statement. He received no reply and assumed Mr Gogarty had taken the tribunal road. Ms Nuala Butler, counsel for the Garda Siochana, asked Det Supt McElligott if the first time the matter of Mr Gogarty's allegations had been raised with the gardai was through Mr Tommy Broughan TD. The detective superintendent said it had come through Mr Broughan to the fraud sqaud and was transferred to Santry. Then in January 1997 he received a letter from Mr Gogarty's solicitors.