A GARDA who claimed he was injured when attacked by a gang of youths five years ago was granted leave in the High Court yesterday to challenge a decision by the Minister for Justice not to allow him to apply to the court for compensation.
Garda Patrick McMenamin (44), of Bundoran Garda station, claimed in an affidavit that he and another garda were attacked on July 13th, 1992, in Bundoran, Co Donegal, and that he received injuries to his chest and right knee.
He applied to the Minister for Justice for compensation and complied with all the requirements of the Minister, including attending the Garda surgeon and submitting himself for medical examination.
Mr Kenneth Fogarty, counsel for Garda McMenamin, said that last April Mr Justice Carney had ruled, in the case of a sergeant with a bloody nose, that the Garda Siochana (Compensation) Act 1941 did not apply to a minor injury, but his client's injuries were not minor.
Granting leave for a judicial review, Ms Justice Laffoy said Garda McMenamin's injury was serious, unlike that referred to by Mr Justice Carney.