Gardaí face €1.5m tribunal/court bill

GARDAÍ are facing a bill of up to €1.5 million to defend themselves in tribunals and court cases, it emerged yesterday.

The Morris Tribunal into garda corruption in the Donegal Division has sat for around 330 days, while the Barr Tribunal into the shooting of John Carthy at Abbeylara has sat for 208.

The Garda Representative Association (GRA) said it had paid 1 million on legal fees so far to represent rank-and-file members at the two tribunals and in the courts. “This is a significant amount and there can be little doubt in any member’s mind that the continued payment of such large sums of money would not be sustainable in the long term,” it said in its annual report.