Ahern says people were let down by Donegal corruption

Justice Minister Dermot Ahern has told the Dáil that the Irish people were let down by the events outlined in the reports of the Morris Tribunal.

Earlier this month, the tribunal published the second of its final two reports into alleged Garda corruption in Donegal.

The tribunal has highlighted a range of corrupt actions by local gardaí, including a campaign of harassment against the McBrearty family.

Mr Ahern used a statement on the matter in the Dail this morning to repeat the tribunal's criticism of the way Fine Gael's Jim Higgins and Brendan Howlin of the Labour Party handled false allegations against senior gardaí that were passed to them by a third party.

The two politicians were severely criticised by the tribunal for refusing to reveal the source of the allegations.

Mr Ahern's decision to repeat this criticism this morning was slammed by Labour TD Pat Rabbitte, who said the minister was pandering to his partisan instincts rather than approaching the issue on a constructive basis.

He said the minister's statement "bodes very poorly for any prospect of these issues being comprehensively addressed or for real and significant reform".