Morris tribunal:There is no formal mechanism for gardaí to investigate suspected false confessions obtained by an Garda Síochána, a senior criminal investigator told the Morris tribunal.
Det Chief Supt John O'Mahony said there was no automatic process to review what led to suspects wrongly admitting to crimes.
Tribunal barrister Paul McDermott asked the garda what mechanism was triggered if it became clear someone made a false confession in a criminal inquiry to see how it happened and how it could be avoided in the future.
Mr McDermott cited the case of Frank McBrearty jnr, which the tribunal is examining, and of Dean Lyons, a drug addict who falsely confessed to a double murder. "I wouldn't say there is a formal mechanism in place," said Chief Supt O'Mahony.
"However, in recent years there is awareness of that issue, an acute awareness resulting in the inclusions of these possibilities in training programmes, not alone for guards, [ but] certainly for senior management."
Chief Supt O'Mahony said that gardaí were working with the PEACE model of police interviewing, used by police forces around the world. He said he had reservations about parts of the model, but found it very useful.
He said that there was often a lack of time available for gardaí questioning suspects to use the model fully and that it often did not allow interviewers to challenge suspects' accounts strongly enough.
Chief Supt Kevin Ludlow said the introduction of electronic recording acted as a catalyst for Garda training in interviewing techniques. More than 8,500 officers were put through a special training programme between March 2001 and July 2002, he said.
Student gardaí were also taught interviewing techniques, "including issues around false confessions and oppressive questioning".