Stay put on order to pay Howlin's costs

The Morris tribunal has been directed by the High Court to pay the costs of a successful challenge by Labour Party deputy, Mr Brendan Howlin, to a tribunal ruling requiring him to provide it with confidential information which he received in relation to certain alleged garda activities in Co Donegal.

However, Mr Justice Kearns placed a stay on all the orders for costs pending the outcome of the tribunal's appeal to the Supreme Court against the judge's decision upholding Mr Howlin's challenge. In a reserved judgment last week, Mr Justice Kearns quashed a ruling made on February 28th last by Mr Justice Morris, chairman of the Morris tribunal, directing Mr Howlin to hand over to the tribunal all documents he had received relating to allegations that three members of the Garda, including two senior members, may have acted with impropriety.

Mr Justice Kearns found that the documents which the tribunal sought to have discovered were "private papers" for the purposes of Article 15 of the Constitution, which deals with the powers of the Houses of the Oireachtas to protect its "official documents" and the "private papers" of its members.

The judge also held the tribunal chairman was wrong in concluding the Committee on Procedures and Privileges was required to pass a specific motion to exercise the power to protect the private papers of members and had failed to do so.

A legal challenge to a similar order by the tribunal requiring Fine Gael senator Jim Higgins to hand over certain phone records had been withdrawn by the senator during the course of the hearing.

The records in question were sought by the tribunal as part of its efforts to establish the source of confidential material faxed on June 25th, 2000, to Senator Higgins, which material contained certain allegations suggesting the Carty Garda inquiry into alleged corrupt activities by some gardaí in Co Donegal had been compromised.

After counsel for the tribunal told the court during the hearing that Co Donegal publican Mr Frank McBrearty had told the tribunal he was the source of some information faxed to Mr Higgins, Mr Higgins's application did not proceed. Mr Higgins, however, maintained he was entitled to privilege over the ultimate source of the information supplied to him.

Yesterday, on the application of Mr Brain O'Moore SC, with Mr Richard Humphreys, for Mr Howlin, Mr Justice Kearns granted the costs of the proceedings, including reserved costs, to Mr Howlin against the tribunal.

He also directed the tribunal to pay the legal costs incurred by the Committee on Procedures and Privileges in the proceedings.