A retired garda has told the Morris tribunal that he had nothing to do with a fax sent to former Fine Gael justice spokesman Jim Higgins outlining a series of anonymous allegations and suggesting that the Carty inquiry into Garda corruption in Co Donegal was compromised.
Mr Higgins received the fax from Frank McBrearty snr on June 25th, 2000. The Donegal publican has said he received the document anonymously in the post.
"The fact is I never sent or drew up a fax, or had anything to do with the sending of it, nor had absolutely nothing to do with Mr Higgins receiving it," retired detective PJ Togher told the tribunal. "He got the impression that it was me, and he's entitled to his own opinion on that."
Mr Higgins has told tribunal investigators that Mr McBrearty snr said to him that the statement came from "my friend", a phrase he often used to refer to Mr Togher.
On the same day in 2000, Labour TD Brendan Howlin received a phone call from Mr McBrearty's barrister, Martin Giblin SC, who had also received the fax from Mr McBrearty. Mr Higgins received another fax the following month outlining similar allegations.
The tribunal has heard that no evidence has been found "to support any of the allegations advanced in either of the faxed documents". Mr Togher said he took "great exception" to an allegation by private investigator Billy Flynn that Mr Togher had alleged Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy had been involved in planting evidence, and said he was practically raised by the commissioner's uncle, a next door neighbour, and held Mr Conroy in the highest regard.
"That was the nail in the coffin for me that he [ Mr Flynn] would ever dare to say that I mentioned friends that were so dear to me, that were next to family," Mr Togher said.
He added that Mr Flynn had also written a letter where he attributed the same allegation to former Det Sgt John White.
The former garda also said a member of the Garda Complaints Board approached the then Opposition leader John Bruton in early 2000 and asked him to tell Mr Higgins to "lay off" the McBrearty case. He was told about the approach by Frank McBrearty jnr when he travelled to Dáil Éireann on March 7th, 2000, with members of the extended family.
Complaints of Garda corruption from the family eventually led to the Morris tribunal being established in 2002.
"Frank jnr told me Higgins had told him that John Bruton had called Mr Higgins in and told Mr Higgins to lay off with the McBreartys," Mr Togher said.
Mr McBrearty jnr said "a member of the complaints board" had approached Mr Bruton and told him 'Higgins was causing problems and would he put a bit of pressure on him to lay off'."