ONE of the unions representing civil servants in the Cromien Inquiry has written to the Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, asking that the anonymity of its members be protected in any published version of the report she receives. The Public Service Executive Union wrote to Mrs Owen yesterday evening after it had concluded its discussions with the inquiry team.
A senior PSEU official, Mr Tom McKevitt, said the request was a precautionary measure. It was necessary because the officials concerned dealt in highly sensitive areas of the criminal justice system, including problems affecting the courts, prison system and the Garda.
Asked if the request was a tacit admission that some PSEU members might have been at fault, in the failure of the Department of Justice to notify Judge Lynch of his transfer from the Special Criminal Court, Mr McKevitt said, "Far from it. Even if our members are completely exonerated we would still want to preserve their anonymity."
There is a precedent for identifying officials as civil servant, A, B or C in the report on the role of the Attorney General's office in the Brendan Smyth affair. The Association of Higher Civil Servants, which has not sent a formal request to the Minister, is understood to have a similar position to the PSEU.
Apart from considerations of personal safety and the stigma that would attach to any civil servant who might be demoted or transferred the unions would be concerned that their members would have no right of reply if their roles are discussed in the Dail.
The role of the unions in the inquiry is complete. It is understood officials attended the final meetings of their members with the inquiry team yesterday. They are understood to have been shown drafts of statements and transcripts of interviews given to the inquiry team, to confirm details are correct.
They were not shown the draft report or given any indication of what the findings of the inquiry will be. Any future contact with the unions on the findings will probably be through normal personnel channels within the Department.
The PSEU has also issued a statement on behalf of its members working in the district and circuit courts saying they would not welcome the proposed changes in the courts service.
While welcoming - an independent courts service in principle, the PSEU said this should be based on the recommendations from Mrs Justice Susan Denham's working group on the courts.
The changes being rushed through by the Government had no statutory basis. The PSEU said it "would have preferred to have negotiated the change in an orderly fashion, which would have enabled matters of concern to staff to be settled ink advance".
Meanwhile, IMPACT has sought a meeting with the Department of Justice on proposed changes to the courts and prison system.