It is now "beyond doubt" that John O'Donoghue and Michael McDowell were aware of the scale of Garda abuses in Donegal almost five years ago, the Labour party said today.
Labour TD Brendan Howlin said the two were aware as early as August 2000 when Mr O'Donoghue was minister for justice and Mr McDowell was Attorney General.
Mr Howlin was commenting following a report in this morning's Irish Timesthat the Garda Síochána told the Government in August 2000 that gardaí in Donegal had exploited and manipulated witnesses, used false information and testimony to cast suspicion, and that there was reason to believe that some had abused their powers.
Marked "Secret", the information is contained in a summary of Assistant Commissioner Kevin Carty's investigation into allegations of "criminal and unethical behaviour" by Donegal gardaí between 1991 and 1998.
The summary, sent to the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform in August 2000, was written by then deputy commissioner Noel Conroy, who now serves as Garda Commissioner.
"It is now beyond doubt that the then Minister for Justice, John O’Donoghue and the then Attorney General, Michael McDowell, has extensive knowledge of the scale and the serious nature of Garda abuses in Donegal when they were obstructing calls from the Labour Party and others for the establishment of a tribunal of inquiry," Mr Howlin said.
"There is now an obligation on Ministers O’Donoghue and McDowell to explain why, more than a year after they received this report, they insisted on voting down an opposition motion in November 2001 that would have provided for the establishment of such an inquiry."
But a spokeswoman for the Minister for Justice told ireland.comMr McDowell had "dealt with the issues in great detail in the Dáil". She said the Government had repeatedly acknowledged there had been a problem in Donegal but held back on setting up a tribunal for fear of risking criminal prosecutions.
She also pointed out that Mr McDowell, as Attorney General in 2000 "didn't have access to the full [Carty] report".
Following the publication of the report of Mr Justice Frederick Morris earlier this month, Commissioner Conroy said the force had been shamed by the lying and corruption of some of its officers in Donegal.
He said he regretted that the force had been tarnished by the handling of the investigation into the death of cattle dealer Richie Barron. As he faced calls for his resignation, Mr Conroy said he would be implementing the recommendations of Judge Frederick Morris's second report as a matter of urgency.