Editorial: Explosive allegations concerning senior gardaí must be investigated

There is an important and pressing public interest in the Morris Tribunal investigating allegations made by an unnamed Garda concerning two very senior gardaí, Assistant Commissioner Kevin Carty and Assistant Commissioner Tony Hickey (now retired). The allegations were contained in a document sent to two TDs, Brendan Howlin and Jim Higgins – the document was attached to a Supreme Court judgment on 20 December, concerning the claim by the two parliamentarians of parliamentary privilege.

 

Explosive allegations concerning senior gardaí

Two of the most senior and respected members of An Garda Síochána of recent times, Assistant Commissioner Kevin Carty and Assistant Commissioner Tony Hickey (now retired) are the subject of the most serious allegations by an unnamed Garda source who communicated information to two TDs on 25 June 2000.

Treachery

Evidence that the British sabotaged Irish constitutional settlement. By Vincent Browne

Poverty and housing crisis in the midst of lavish wealth

Figures on poverty released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on 12 December are almost unbelievable. They show that last year (2004) almost one fifth of the population (19.4 per cent) were at risk of poverty, by which they mean one fifth of the population were living on household incomes of €9,680 or less (that is, €186 per week or less).

 

McDowell abused office

Had Sean Doherty, while Minister for Justice in 1982, used the contents of a Garda file to have a journalist driven from his employment, he and the government he served would have been driven from office in what would have been regarded as one of the worst scandals of that era. Doherty's fate and that of the then government, led by Charles Haughey, would have been even more reviled had it emerged that Doherty had leaked a document from that Garda file to a journalist and then claimed he did so to protect the institutions of the State against subversion.

He did the State some service

Michael Mills, one of the most influential political commentators for decades, later the first Ombudsman, has published a revealing memoir. By Vincent Browne.

 

Massive payments to politicians and a huge rezoning

Payments of €500,000 to councillors coincided with the rezoning of lands that have now become the Liffey Valley Shopping Centre. As a direct consequence, an already disadvantaged community has been further disadvantaged. The Planning Tribunal has commenced public hearings that will involve 88 witnesses and tens of thousands of documents – unless prevented by the Courts. By Vincent Browne

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