Gardaí were ‘powerless against IRA’ in Donegal

GARDAI were powerless to take action against hardened IRA terrorists living openly in Co Donegal while their campaign of violence was at its height, the Morris Tribunal was told yesterday.

A former high-ranking officer agreed with the assessment of tribunal chief Mr Justice Frederick Morris that the picture emerging from the corruption claims inquiry was that the terrorists "appeared to have lived peacefully in the community without being in any way harassed by the garda authorities".

The chairman asked: "Why were they not, so to speak, approached on an offensive basis, rather than trying to prevent them from harming the public?"