The State is facing a massive compensation claim from Mr Frank Shortt after the Court of Criminal Appeal yesterday declared a miscarriage of justice in the case of the Co Donegal nightclub owner.
Lawyers for Mr Shortt, who served a three-year prison sentence for knowingly allowing drugs to be sold in his nightclub before his conviction was quashed in November 2000, are expected to apply to the Minister for Justice in the autumn to fix compensation.
The court's finding that two Garda witnesses in the case, Det Garda Noel McMahon and Supt Kevin Lennon, had "consciously and deliberately" invented evidence, and then concealed this fact, is also likely to prompt further investigation.
The Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, said that he was "clearly concerned" about the court's decision and its implications. He declined to comment further until he had studied the full judgment.
Opposition parties called on the Minister to take steps to bolster public confidence in the Garda Síochána.
Mr Shortt called on the DPP and the Minister for Justice to take "appropriate action" against the people who were "the cause of all my trouble".
One or two "bad apples" did not mean that the entire Garda Síochána could be condemned, he said. But not enough action had been taken to root out the bad apples.
Mr Shortt's case was not included in the terms of reference of the Morris tribunal into allegations of corruption involving some gardaí in the Donegal Division and he did not seek representation at the tribunal. However, it is possible that the allegations raised may be taken up by Mr Justice Morris.
In its judgment yesterday, the court held that the "deliberate supression" of evidence by the two senior gardaí entitled Mr Shortt to a certificate declaring a miscarriage of justice arising from his conviction for knowingly allowing the sale of drugs at his Inishowen club, the Point Inn.
The only previous occasion on which a certificate was granted since the provision was introduced in 1993 was in the case of two youths, Mr Joseph Meleady and Mr Joseph Grogan, known as the "Tallaght Two". These two men are currently suing the State for compensation.
Mr Shortt (67) was jailed for three years after his conviction in 1995. This was set aside by the Court of Criminal Appeal in November 2000, with no opposition from the DPP, after certain allegations were made in the report of the internal Carty inquiry into alleged corruption by gardaí in Co Donegal.
The presiding judge, Mr Justice Hardiman, said that evidence was invented at that time to address serious weaknesses in the case against Mr Shortt.
The court accepted evidence from Ms Sheenagh McMahon that Det McMahon, her estranged husband, told her he had perjured himself during the trial of Mr Shortt. Det McMahon told his wife that he had done this to get Supt Lennon promoted. The court found Ms McMahon to be a "truthful and generally accurate witness".
The court was satisfied that no documents were deliberately concealed by either the DPP or the gardaí conducting the Carty inquiry.
Another witness, Ms Adrienne McGlinchey, also made allegations that Mr Shortt was framed by the gardaí. The court noted that there were conflicts surrounding Ms McGlinchey's evidence. However, it also noted that, had she not made allegations to the Carty inquiry, the process which led to the discovery of other significant facts relating to Mr Shortt's conviction would not have begun.
The fact that the court had established a miscarriage of justice based on matters unrelated to Ms McGlinchey's evidence rendered it unnecessary to record any findings on her evidence, it decided.