McDowell denies bill will give him sweeping powers

JUSTICE Minister Michael McDowell last night rejected claims that a key amendment to the Garda Bill will give him sweeping powers to inspect every garda file.

The Labour Party alleged that one of the 12 major amendments to the bill, all stemming from the Morris Report, would allow the minister such “illiberal powers”.

The amendment addresses the situation that arose in 2001, when the Garda Commissioner refused to provide the full Carty report on the garda siege at Abbeylara to the Government.

But Labour leader Pat Rabbitte yesterday asserted that the remedy that was like “using a sledgehammer to crack a peanut”.

“This could allow a Minister for Justice to demand a file on a government backbencher under investigation,” he alleged.

“Indeed given the history of some recent Fianna Fáil Ministers for Justice, it could lead to the minister demanding to see his own file.”

But the minister said he could not make a direct request but could only do so through the Secretary General of Justice.

He told reporters that the notion of both a minister and a secretary general being open to such abuse was “fantastical”.

“I would imagine that if the Garda Commissioner regarded this as an abuse of access, he would immediately indicate it to the secretary general,” he said.

The row over the amendment took place during a heated Dáil debate, with angry exchanges over the bill and the Government’s record on the Donegal garda scandal.

In all, 112 amendments were presented to the Dáil yesterday, giving rise to protests by Fine Gael justice spokesman Jim O’Keeffe that only 30 hours was allotted for debate.

Earlier, Mr Rabbitte asked had Mr McDowell sought the resignation of Commissioner Noel Conroy. Mr McDowell said that this “outrageous” allegation was without foundation.

Mr Rabbitte also asserted that the Government was in possession of all relevant information from the Carty report in 2000 but had effectively sat on their hands to suppress an inquiry.

Mr McDowell said the Government received only a 37-page precis of the report in August 2000 and did not receive the full report until January 2002.