Court told Carthy inquiry legitimate

An Oireachtas sub-committee inquiry into the fatal shooting by gardaí of Mr John Carthy at Abbeylara, Co Longford, is entitled to make a finding of fact that would lead to the conclusion that Mr Carthy was unlawfully killed, counsel for the sub-committee has told the Supreme Court.

Mr Frank Clarke SC, also said it was "unreal" to expect the Abbeylara sub-committee (ASC) to produce a coherent report without addressing the evidence.

Earlier, Mr Sean Ryan SC, also for the sub-committee, said the ASC would have to ask itself whether the Garda operation at Abbeylara was properly managed or bungled.

If it found the latter, that would of course impact on somebody. He stressed there was no question the ASC could purport to find a person guilty of a crime, of murder or manslaughter. That would involve the administration of justice

He added that any findings by the ASC would be made in a context where all witnesses appearing before it were entitled to consult lawyers regarding whether they should answer questions.

A panoply of rights was available to witnesses including the right to take proceedings in the High Court challenging the relevance of certain questions. Mr Ryan conceded some incorrect information had been given by the ASC to the Oireachtas Compellability Sub-Committee (CSC) when the ASC had in April 2001 sought the required statutory consent to direct the attendance of witnesses before it. However, he said, this was not so material as to vitiate the consent given by the CSC to the ASC's application. He argued the High Court was wrong to find there was no valid consent for the ASC's application.

Counsel were making submissions in the continuing State appeal against a decision of a three judge High Court last November upholding a challenge by 36 gardaí to the ASC inquiry into the shooting of Mr Carthy. He died after being shot four times by members of the Garda Emergency Response Unit following a siege at his home in April 2000.

The focus of the appeal by the Attorney General and the State is against a declaration by the High Court that there is no inherent power in parliament to conduct inquiries liable to result in findings of fact or expressions of opinion adverse to the good name and livelihoods of citizens who are not members of the Oireachtas.

The High Court also found that when the ASC had applied to the CSC on April 11th, 2001 for the required consent to direct the attendance of witnesses before it, the ASC had misstated its terms of reference. The High Court said the sub-committee had transmuted its terms beyond a consideration of the Garda Commissioner's report on the Abbeylara incident to an "inquiry" into the incident.

The High Court ruled the CSC had given no written consent to the ASC's application for consent for directing the attendance of witnesses until April 30th, 2001, and in that case, the directions issued by the ASC to gardaí to appear before it were unauthorised. It also found the written consent of April 30th, 2001, was not in accordance with statutory provisions.

Addressing these points yesterday, Mr Ryan said the ASC had the power to send for persons, papers and records under resolutions of the Houses of the Oireachtas. Mr Ryan said the High Court was incorrect to suggest the ASC had just "taken off on its own".

The Dáil and Seanad had referred the Garda report on Abbeylara to the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence, Equality and Women's Rights and that in turn set up the ASC to consider the report and get submissions.

The Oireachtas had authorised the process of hearing evidence and had expanded the brief of the ASC by implication.

The appeal continues today.