Former taoiseach and opposition leader John Bruton asked former Fine Gael justice spokesman Jim Higgins MEP to "ease off" his representations in the Dáil on behalf of the McBrearty family, who were complaining of Garda corruption in Co Donegal, a barrister told the Morris tribunal.
Niall Mooney, counsel for Mr Higgins, said it had "come to the attention of Mr Higgins that he did on one occasion receive a phone call from Mr Bruton and in the course of that telephone conversation Mr Bruton did in fact request he ease off on his representations on behalf of the McBrearty family".
Mr Mooney said he wished to apologise to Patrick (PJ) Togher and the tribunal for the error in his cross-examination on Wednesday, when he put it to Mr Togher that Mr Higgins would "say very clearly that at no stage did that happen, did Mr Bruton ever approach him in respect of the McBreartys and ask him to lay off".
Priority questions raised by Mr Higgins in the Dáil concerning allegations of Garda wrongdoing in Co Donegal ultimately led to the setting-up of the Morris tribunal.
Mr Togher had alleged that Frank McBrearty jnr told him following a meeting with the Fine Gael TD in March 2000 that he had been told that "a member of the Garda Complaints Board" had contacted Mr Bruton and told him that "Mr Higgins was causing problems", following which Mr Bruton "told Mr Higgins to lay off with the McBreartys".
Mr Togher says he worked part time for Mr McBrearty following his retirement from the Garda in 1998. He says he is not the author of a document Mr McBrearty snr faxed to Mr Higgins in June 2000 alleging that an internal investigation into complaints in Donegal was compromised by high-level Garda corruption.
Mr Higgins, whose evidence continues, has yet to give his own account of the conversation with Mr Bruton.
The MEP told the tribunal he "explicitly understood" that Mr Togher was the source of anonymous allegations about the Carty inquiry.
Mr Higgins received the faxed document from Mr McBrearty snr on June 25th, 2000, and when he asked the publican where the information came from, Mr McBrearty said it came from "my friend".
"I believed that Mr Togher was in fact the source and the author of the document," Mr Higgins said. He said that both he and Mr McBrearty snr were "cautious and coy" when talking on the telephone, because of "anxiety and fear" that the line was tapped.Mr Higgins said he took the information to the then minister for justice, John O'Donoghue. As a result, the minister contacted the Garda commissioner, who appointed Fachtna Murphy to investigate.