Facing into another tribunal, change is still evading the gardaí years after the Morris Tribunal was supposed to herald a new dawn for the force, writes Michael Clifford.

The Government backed down three times on repeated attempts to cut €2,250-a-day fees of tribunal barristers after threats they would walk away from the inquiries, it emerged today.

The Morris Tribunal is set to cost the Irish taxpayer €70m.

Justice Minister Dermot Ahern has told the Dáil that the Irish people were let down by the events outlined in the reports of the Morris Tribunal.

The final report of the Morris Tribunal has criticised some senior Gardaí in Donegal for allowing a Sergeant run a campaign of harassment against a local publican and his family in the late 1990s.

A massive Garda corruption inquiry was tonight wound up with a stinging attack on the two senior politicians key to its being set up.

The Anonymous Allegations, as they became known, accused then Assistant Commissioner Kevin Carty – who headed the internal probe into corruption in Donegal – and his former colleague, retired Assistant Commissioner Tony Hickey, of corruption.

The most senior gardaí in Donegal approved of an obsessive zero-tolerance campaign of harassment against the McBrearty’s.

The Government is to hold a debate within weeks on the Morris Tribunal findings on garda corruption.

The new Tánaiste, Mary Coughlan, has defended the decision to publish the latest report from the Morris Tribunal yesterday.

Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy has said he fully accepted the Morris Tribunal report's findings, adding that it was a matter of profound regret that the families involved were mistreated by the force.

The latest report from the Morris Tribunal has concluded that a number of people were arrested and detained unlawfully in the investigation into the death of Richie Barron.

Fine Gael is accusing Justice Minister Brian Lenihan of trying to bury the findings of the Morris Tribunal into alleged garda corruption in Donegal.

A garda sergeant became a hate figure for a Donegal publican who destroyed his reputation and career, it was claimed today.

The former chair of the Garda Complaints Board today said he regretted not being able to fully investigate claims of corruption and harassment among members in Donegal.

A former top official with the Garda Complaints Board today said there was nothing special about a string of accusations received by the office in 1997 about alleged garda misconduct in Donegal.

A shamed former garda today strongly denied any involvement in the death 11 years ago of Donegal cattle dealer, Richie Barron.

A nightclub doorman was today accused of changing his evidence at the Morris Tribunal because his claim for damages at the High Court was flawed.

A former Garda sergeant today insisted he was not to blame for Donegal publican Frank McBrearty Snr refusing to give evidence at the Morris Tribunal.

Frank McBrearty Snr has refused to give evidence at a tribunal probing claims of garda corruption in Donegal, it emerged today.

A Donegal publican who won almost €4.5m in damages can afford legal representation at a tribunal probing allegations of garda corruption, it was claimed today.

A private detective today admitted illegally obtaining telephone records in an attempt to clear the names of a Donegal family at the centre of a botched murder inquiry.

A former Garda officer today admitted the force was excessive in its inspections of Donegal nightclub owner Frank McBrearty’s premises.

A lone garda was forced to flee a Donegal town for his own safety after a mob of up to 800 people began throwing glasses at him, it emerged today.

An experienced Garda today said he felt uneasy when a colleague revealed he had made a secret recording of an interview with a drugs suspect, at which both officers were present.

Business owners are not committing a criminal offence if they refuse to evacuate their premises during a bomb scare, it emerged today.

The son of a man at the centre of Garda harassment allegations did not turn up today to give scheduled evidence at the Morris Tribunal.

Former Taoiseach John Bruton today denied trying to silence one of his TDs who led a campaign to help a Donegal family expose garda corruption.

Former Taoiseach John Bruton will be questioned at the Morris Tribunal today over claims he asked one of his TDs not to help a Donegal family’s battle to expose garda corruption.

Pub and nightclub inspections by gardai enforcing the liquor licensing law should be a quick-run strategy and not a prolonged exercise, the Morris Tribunal heard today.

Gardaí walked around with torches searching for suspect packages during several bomb scares at an unevacuated Donegal nightclub, the Morris Tribunal heard today.

Gardaí laid siege to a Donegal nightclub in the late 1990s, harassing and intimidating staff and customers in a manner worse than the Mafia, the Morris Tribunal heard today.

Student gardaí were sent undercover into a Donegal nightclub to expose breaches of the liquor licensing laws, the Morris Tribunal heard today.

A retired Garda Superintendent today denied calling for a no-nonsense, get tough approach to weekend policing amid claims a publican was singled out by gardaí.

A disgraced former garda superintendent today claimed he ordered his officers not to inflame already strained relations with a family alleging harassment.

A former Labour Party Senator today claimed gardai in Donegal policed under a biased political agenda.

A former Senator today claimed gardaí were biased in policing pubs in Co Donegal.

An eircom employee helped a private detective access the home phone records of a senior Donegal garda officer, the Morris Tribunal heard today.

A Donegal publican made a plea for help to one of the country’s garda chiefs after his family was allegedly harassed and intimidated by officers in the county, it emerged today.

A disgraced former detective single-handedly destroyed a small Co Donegal market town by waging a campaign of harassment against a prominent family, it was claimed today.

Eight rapes were reported within a seven-week period in one Donegal Garda district in the late 1990s, it emerged today.

Eight rapes were reported within a seven-week period in one Donegal garda district in the late 1990s, it emerged today.

There is no evidence to back up an accusation a senior Donegal garda planted drugs on a man he arrested at a nightclub, it was claimed today.

A senior garda officer allegedly planted drugs in the jacket pocket of a man arrested at a Donegal nightclub in the late 1990s, a tribunal heard today.

The former top garda in Donegal today said he never sanctioned a crackdown on breaches of the liquor licensing law carried out by certain gardaí in the county during the late 1990s.

A private detective identified within 24 hours the source of blackmail calls to an innocent man during a murder investigation, but it took gardaí years to get the same information, it emerged today.

The former top garda in Donegal today said he supported the adjournment of dozens of District Court summonses against a publican over credibility issues with prosecuting gardaí.

A Donegal market town descended into mayhem and a near riot on Friday nights as hundreds of young drinkers left a popular nightclub, a garda corruption inquiry heard today.

There were personality clashes between a Donegal publican and gardaí who were later accused of mounting a campaign of harassment, it was claimed today.

A garda today denied harassing a Donegal publican who he claimed was a bully who always wanted his own way.