Tribunal adjourns due to new Garda evidence

The Garda has provided the planning tribunal with fresh information about its criminal investigations into allegations of planning corruption, the chairman, Mr Justice Flood, announced yesterday.

The investigations centre on planning matters in Dublin and matters relating to the construction of the massive ESB power station at Moneypoint, Co Clare.

Mr Justice Flood adjourned hearings until January after announcing that the Garda had provided the tribunal with 29 new statements about its criminal investigations.

The statements relate to allegations made by Mr James Gogarty, the main witness at the tribunal.

But they also relate to some of the five individuals - including the builders Mr Michael Bailey and Mr Joseph Murphy snr, and the former minister for foreign affairs, Mr Ray Burke - who are seeking to have the hearing of Mr Gogarty's evidence postponed.

It is not yet clear whether lawyers for any or all of the five men named in Mr Gogarty's affidavit will fulfil a warning made last week that they would go to the High Court if a lengthy postponement was not granted.

Mr Gogarty, a former senior executive of Joseph Murphy Structural Engineering, has made allegations about the five men in a detailed affidavit given to the tribunal last month. Media reports of his allegations led to the establishment of the tribunal and the resignation last year of Mr Burke.

Mr Justice Flood yesterday gave the five parties some extra time to prepare for the hearings, but not before he dismissed virtually all of their arguments for an adjournment.

He said it was in the public interest that the evidence of Mr Gogarty, who is 81, be heard at the earliest appropriate opportunity. This should happen before the tribunal completed its investigations into his allegations, and before the context of his evidence was established in public, he said.

However, he agreed to the request of the five men to be supplied with "relevant documentation" about the allegations. This would be subject to any claim of privilege and might be supplied in edited form.

Mr Gogarty had been scheduled to begin his evidence on November 16th; it is now planned to start public hearings on January 12th.

The judge criticised Mr Burke, Mr Bailey, Mr Murphy snr, the former Dublin county manager, Mr George Redmond, and a former director of JMSE, Mr Gerard Downes, for failing to make written statements to the tribunal. It was difficult to reconcile this failure with the "professed intentions" of Mr Burke and Mr Bailey to co-operate with the tribunal.

He accused Mr Colm Allen SC, counsel for Mr Bailey and Bovale Developments, of making "unnecessary and pejorative remarks" at last week's application for an adjournment. This approach did not assist the common interest of all parties, he said.

Mr Allen denied he had made a "threat" to go to the High Court and said the judge was using "extremely emotive language". His clients had had to go to the courts before and they would do it again if necessary, he added.

The judge said Mr Garrett Cooney SC, for JMSE, had questioned the tribunal and made in terrorem threats of High Court proceedings.

The new Garda evidence became came available to the tribunal only last Friday. According to the Chief State Solicitor, the information came to light only after the Garda had considered parts of Mr Gogarty's statement.

Mr Justice Flood said this situation amounted to a serious change in the circumstances to be considered by the tribunal.

Dealing with the arguments for a postponement, he said that the timing of public hearings was at the sole discretion of the tribunal. The parties seeking an adjournment did not have a veto over proceedings.

He rejected the contention that a witness could be heard only when all contextual evidence was provided and when all investigations had been completed.

"The tribunal is not satisfied that the applicants have made out any reasonable factual or legal basis for the claim that Mr Gogarty's evidence may only be heard at a time or in the manner that they suggest."

Given Mr Gogarty's age and health, and the public interest in hearing his evidence in public, his evidence should be heard as soon as possible "in these exceptional circumstances".