Some "appalling mistakes" have been made in prosecutions due to the lack of co-ordination and cohesion between the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and that of the Chief State Solicitor, the outgoing DPP has acknowledged.
Speaking to The Irish Times on his last day in office after 24 years, Mr Eamonn Barnes was commenting on the reported recommendations of the Public Prosecution System Study Group which were published in this newspaper yesterday. These included a recommendation that the criminal division staff of the Chief State Solicitor's Office be transferred to the office of the DPP.
He said he had not seen the report and it had yet to be considered by the Cabinet. However, he said: "The need for change has been apparent for years and years. Some appalling mistakes have been made because of the lack of cohesion."
He said this did not imply any criticism of the Chief State Solicitor's Office or its staff. "The amazing thing is, given the way the system operates, that it works so well so often."
At the moment, when a crime is investigated by the Garda, a file is sent to the DPP. This is then examined by an official in his office who decides not only on the likely guilt or innocence of the accused but on whether a prima facie case against him or her exists on the evidence. The official also considers whether this evidence is credible and reliable.
If he or she then makes a decision to prosecute, the file is passed to the Chief State Solicitor's Office, or one of the county State solicitors. "Unless very precise and detailed instructions are given, like `Prosecute X for Y, the following witnesses are required, the following proofs are needed', mistakes are inevitable," said Mr Barnes.
"Unless there is greater ease of communication, greater cohesion in the criminal justice system, then inevitably mistakes will arise. They are not anyone's fault.
"If we had a tabula rasa and we were asked to design a criminal justice system the one we have would be the last one you'd design. Under the system we have the DPP cannot marshal his troops in court. There is no control over the manner in which cases are run. But he has to accept ministerial responsibility, so to speak, for them, and I always have."
He refused to be drawn on specific examples of mistakes made in the prosecution process.