McBrearty fails in bid to have legal costs paid

DONEGAL publican Frank McBrearty yesterday lost his High Court application to have the State pay his legal costs for appearing at the Morris Tribunal.

The evidence of Mr McBrearty and his family is considered to be of central importance to the tribunal and they have been granted the right to be legally represented. However, on July 22, 2002, the chairman of the tribunal, Mr Justice Frederick Morris said he could only make an order for payment of legal costs at the conclusion of the tribunal hearings.

Mr Justice Michael Peart said he had no alternative but to reject the application. However, he hinted the work of the tribunal might be eased if some form of assistance could be given to the family.

In a 93-page judgment, the judge said that if there was any way a point could have been stretched in relation to the various issues he had had to decide he would have been prepared to do so, not just in the interests of the McBrearty family, but in the interests of the tribunal itself.

It seemed the McBreartys did not have the benefit of the services of lawyers for the duration of the tribunal. The burden of assisting the family would fall to the tribunal and its lawyers and it was likely its work could thereby take longer to complete. However, the Government had refused to assist the family, the legislation did not permit an exception in their case and he therefore refused their application.

Mr Justice Peart said he was refusing the application on the grounds that Mr McBrearty failed to bring the proceedings within a stipulated three month period following Mr Justice Morris’s refusal. He said while the court had the “utmost sympathy” for Mr McBrearty and his family for the position in which they found themselves, there had been inordinate delay in the bringing of the application having regard to the Rules of the Superior Court. The delay had not been explained in any satisfactory way.

Mr Justice Peart said Mr McBrearty’s rights to fair procedures and those of his family could not be regarded as including the right to have their legal representation funded or provided for in advance of the tribunal reaching its findings.

The court was told Mr McBrearty is unable to afford to pay for legal representation before the tribunal. Mr McBrearty claimed he and his family were being forced on pain of severe penalty into an arena without protection where they will be required to “place our heads in the mouths of maulers”.

The tribunal is inquiring into investigations concerning the death of Raphoe, Co Donegal man, Richie Barron on October 14, 1996 and allegations of harassment of the McBrearty family subsequent to the death of Mr Barron.