Cover up charge "contemptible"

THE Taoiseach strongly denied there was a cover up in the Government's handling of the Duncan extradition controversy.

Answering questions for an hour, Mr Bruton defended his role and that of the Garda, the Attorney General and the Minister for Justice. Amid heated exchanges, he insisted that the explanation of where the fault lay for the failed extradition was not known until the Garda report of May 21st.

Dr Michael Woods (FF, Dublin North East) challenged the Taoiseach to deny that the Department of Justice had received a report from the Garda in the early afternoon of Monday, April 15th, accepting responsibility for mislaying the original documents.

Dr Woods said it was grossly unfair to the Garda to suggest that they kept the Government, the AG and the Department of Justice completely in the dark for six weeks relating to the fact that they accepted they were responsible for the "human error" in the first instance.

"The issue is about the concealment and the cover up by the Taoiseach, his colleagues in Cabinet and by the Attorney General. That is what we are witnessing here today. The gardai were thrown in to try to take away from what was really happening.

Mr Bruton said he regarded the charge that he was involved in a cover up as contemptible and untrue and he asked Dr Woods to withdraw it.

"I have not been involved in a cover up in this matter, and I believe that the Fianna Fail party are so hurt by the loss of office that they believe that any known untruth - on the basis that if you throw enough mud some will stick - that they can attach to any member of the Government is fair game.

Let me say to this House that this is not acceptable behaviour, and the use of untrue statements, like that made by Dr Woods, shows the utter bankruptcy of his party in this area... They have to resort to making charges they know are untrue, that have been denied by the Garda authorities and officials in the Department of Justice, who felt the necessity to issue a statement defending their integrity from Fianna Fail attacks.

Pressed again by Dr Woods to deny that the Department of Justice received a report from the Garda on Monday, April 15th, the Taoiseach said that aallegation had been denied on the record by officials in the Department of Justice. "It is not true, and the deputy is repeating untruths time and again, even though he knows they are untrue".

He said the Garda themselves did not know where the fault lay and therefore, they could not have conveyed information to the Department of Justice. They did not establish where the fault lay until the report of May 21st.

"That is what the gardai have said, that is what the Department of Justice has said, that is what the Minister for Justice has said. And that is what I say. Attempts by Fianna Fail to say that all four people are telling untruths is, to my mind, as I have said, contemptible."

Earlier, in his official reply, Mr Bruton said the circumstances in which the application failed were unique. The function of the Attorney General was to examine the content of the copy documents to ascertain whether there was a clear intention to prosecute founded on the existence of sufficient evidence.

The Taoiseach said there was no information available on April 13th which would lead the AG's office to be aware which police force had mishandled the matter. The office had no operational responsibility for the Garda; any investigation was a matter for the Minister for Justice or the Garda.

It was clear that the warrant had been mishandled by one or other force, or maybe both, but that was not determined until the completion of the Garda report on May 21st.

In the aftermath of the failed extradition, on April 13th, the AG's first priority was to consider and decide upon the new warrant which was furnished by the UK authorities on the following day and this consideration and decision took place between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. on the morning of Sunday, April 14th. That process was completed later on that Sunday, and further action on that matter now awaited the outcome of separate criminal proceedings in this jurisdiction.

The AG's office had no role or function in investigating or distributing blame as between the two police forces, Mr Bruton said.

The Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, suggested that it was reasonable that the Attorney General should have kept Mr Bruton informed of what was happening, given that extradition was such a sensitive matter in Anglo Irish relations, and the fact that he was engaged in numerous conversations with the British prime minister.

Mr Bruton said that the responsibilities of the Attorney General were essentially of a legal rather than a political kind in that area. They were to establish that there was a case to answer effectively, and he made an independent judgment as a law officer as to whether or not there was an adequate case to answer. Therefore, it would not be appropriate for him to consult the Taoiseach.

Mr Ahern asked: "Is it not a fact that around the weekend of either April 13th, 14th or 15th the AG referred this matter in some way to you? ... Is it not reasonable to assume that the AG would have discussed this important matter on that weekend, when it was a major political issue, both here and more so in Britain, and that the AG would be briefed fully by the Minister for Justice on the matter ... and the Minister for Justice, if not the AG, would have spoken to you about it?"

Mr Bruton replied: "I can now, having considered the matter carefully, that the AG did discuss the matter with me on weekend in question, or subsequently, until the matter became a matter of public controversy.

"The deputy's suggestion that he did do so is not true and I ash the deputy to accept my word or the matter. I have talked to the AG since about the matter, and he agrees with me that he did not discuss the matter with me."

Mr Ahern recalled that it had been stated in the Dail last week that the Minister for Justice first spoken about the matter the Taoiseach on Sunday night. Was the happy with a situation that Minister had not made a report him until then?

Mr Bruton replied: "I am perfectly happy that all of the officers appointed by the Government to do their job in this matter have done their job effectively. I am referring here particularly to the Minister for Justice and the AG.

"I believe both have acted with propriety and integrity, despite the criticisms and imputations on their integrity that have been passed by both opposition parties on both people. I reject also the imputations on my integrity that have been bandied about with such freedom here by deputies who profess to be concerned about standards in public life."