The Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, is to go to the High Court to seek legal direction on the publication of the latest findings from the Morris tribunal into Garda corruption in Donegal.
It follows concerns about the potential impact of aspects of the report into a criminal trial relating to incidents being investigated by the tribunal.
Meanwhile, it has also emerged that Mr McDowell plans to announce new regulations in the coming weeks which will be aimed at fast-tracking Garda disciplinary cases and preventing against lengthy delays caused by gardaí taking legal challenges.
Speaking yesterday at the launch of the annual report of the Garda Complaints Board, Mr McDowell said he had now received the latest reports from Mr Justice Frederick Morris into the three latest tribunal modules last Wednesday.
These include the Burnfoot gun-planting and arrest module; the module into Bernard Conlon's role as a Garda agent; and the Ardara bomb discovery and arrest module. He told journalists there was concern that their, "immediate publication would prejudice an existing prosecution", and that he would be going to the High Court in the coming 10 days to, "get directions in this regard".
However, he said he believed the general views and conclusions of the reports are not affected. "It is my intention to put these in the public domain in the next 10 days," he said.
He said he was also planning to introduce a new initiative in the coming weeks relating to legal cases that are taken by gardaí against disciplinary proceedings.
The issue was highlighted by the complaints board as one that had led to considerable delays in some cases reaching a conclusion. The chairman of the complaints board, Gordon Holmes, said it had led to one case that had still not been resolved, more than five years after it was first made.
The Irish Times understands that Mr McDowell plans to introduce regulations aimed at telescoping the length of time disciplinary proceedings against gardaí take. The regulations, which will be announced in the wake of the Morris tribunal conclusions, will also address the length of time judicial review proceedings relating to such matters take.
The Morris tribunal has already resulted in two highly critical reports, which found fault with both how the gardaí are managed and the activities of a number of individual gardaí in Donegal.
The reports contributed to the enactment of the Garda Act, which has established a new three person Garda Ombudsman Commission to take over from the complaints board, beginning its work from early next year.
The new commission will have its own staff and, while it will continue to use gardaí to investigate complaints against members, it will also have the power to direct investigations and its own €10 million budget.
A new independent Garda inspectorate, to be headed by Boston police commissioner Kathleen O'Toole, to advise on Garda strategy and procedures, is also being established.
Mr Holmes said he hoped the 2005 annual report would be the second-last full report of the complaints board.