Shatter did not want issues probed

Alan Shatter, the former justice minister, wrote to the Taoiseach and ceann comhairle urging that aspects of the Guerin report concerning Mr Shatter’s handling of allegations by Garda whistleblower Sergeant Maurice McCabe not be investigated by an intended commission of investigation pending the outcome of legal proceedings.

Correspondence from Mr Shatter and his lawyers, and replies to that, was read in the High Court yesterday during the hearing of Mr Shatter’s judicial review challenge aimed at quashing parts of the report of barrister Seán Guerin concerning Mr Shatter’s handling of Sgt McCabe’s allegations.

Mr Shatter claims Mr Guerin breached fair procedures in how he reached allegedly adverse conclusions that, it is claimed, left the then minister with no option but to resign the day after the report was published on May 6, 2014.

In correspondence read by Paul Gallagher, representing Mr Guerin, Nick Reddy, the private secretary to Taoiseach Enda Kenny, replied in November to a September 2014 letter from Mr Shatter’s lawyers, noting the ex-minister was concerned the terms of reference of the proposed commission may include matters from the Guerin report concerning Mr Shatter’s conduct of his statutory function as justice minister.

Mr Reddy said the decision to establish a commission was one for the Government to make and neither the content of Mr Guerin’s report, described by Mr Reddy as “a scoping exercise”, nor how he carried out that report could have a bearing on the commission’s investigation. The process was “wholly independent”, he added.

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Mr Shatter’s solicitors replied on November 17 stating that, should the issues concerning Mr Shatter raised by Mr Guerin form part of the commission terms of reference, or the matters of public concern to be investigated, that would amount to “unlawful and unjustifiable” trespass on court proceedings. It would be “bizarre” and “Kafkaesque” if Mr Shatter was forced to become involved with a commission arising from conclusions in a report which he was challenging, they said.

They sought confirmation within seven days that aspects of the report Mr Shatter was challenging in his legal action would not form part of the terms of reference pending the outcome of his case.

On November 21, Mr Reddy replied that the Government had, two days previously, approved a draft order for a commission and attached the terms of reference. Those terms directed the commission to investigate a range of matters, including the investigation by the Garda, and justice minister of complaints by Sgt McCabe related to nine specified incidents.

Mr Justice Seamus Noonan also heard that Mr Shatter and his lawyers wrote to Seán Barrett, the ceann comhairle, seeking to raise his concerns in the Dáil about the remit of the commission and to have excluded from this the matters Mr Shatter complained of in the Guerin report.

Mr Barrett replied on January 27, to solicitors for Mr Shatter, saying there was no provision for the Dáil to amend or delete the commission’s terms of reference.

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