A barrister representing the McBrearty family has demanded an apology from the State for his clients and has said there is an urgent need for an independent body to investigate complaints against the Garda.
Mr Peter Nolan SC was speaking after the State withdrew the last two remaining charges against members of the McBrearty family and their staff.
A number of outstanding charges had remained since June 2000 when the DPP withdrew more than 150 summonses against a Raphoe nightclub owner, Mr Frank McBrearty, and members of his family and staff. No explanation was given as to why the summonses, under Licensing, Road Traffic and Public Order legislation, were withdrawn.
The charges against Mr McBrearty and the Garda handling of the investigation into the suspicious death of Mr Richie Barron from Raphoe in October 1996 have become the subject of the biggest internal Garda inquiry in the history of the force.
Mr Nolan said yesterday the charges against the McBreartys were "a charade", and he believed the DPP should be required to explain why the summonses were withdrawn.
He said his clients had been "through hell for the past five years" and that the summonses should have been withdrawn a year and a half ago. "They gave us no reason why they were withdrawing the summonses, they gave us no reason for the delay in withdrawing the summonses, they gave us no reason for why the summonses were issued in the first place, and all of these matters create wider questions in terms of the DPP's role in this matter," he added.
He was critical of the Garda Complaints Board, which he said had been shown to be "a joke" because it had "basically rejected" complaints from Mr McBrearty some years ago. He said it was "ridiculous" for gardai to be investigating other gardai and said there was an urgent need for an independent body to investigate complaints.
Mr Nolan said there had been "a certain element [of gardai] who acted way beyond any powers that they thought they may have had".
Mr McBrearty is to pursue a civil action for damages in the High Court.
In the ongoing investigation under Assistant Commissioner Kevin Carty into alleged Garda corruption in Co Donegal a number of civilians have been charged with making false statements and a detective sergeant has been charged with unlawful possession of a firearm.