Court of Appeal reserves judgement on Shatter's application to have parts of Guerin report deleted

The Court of Appeal has reserved judgement in former Minister for Justice Alan Shatter’s application to have parts of the Guerin report deleted.

He also wants an amended copy to be sent to the Taoiseach following a successful appeal over adverse findings made against him.

Without giving Alan Shatter a chance to respond to Sean Guerin’s conclusions in his 2014 report into allegations of Garda misconduct in the Cavan/Monaghan division, the Court of Appeal ruled earlier this month that his constitutional rights were breached.

Mr. Shatter wasn’t in court to hear his appeal had been successful but he did attend today for a brief hearing on what reliefs he is entitled to.

Both parties have agreed on an appropriate declaration, but the former Minister for Justice also wants Mr. Guerin to erase certain parts of his report and to deliver a corrected version to the Government.

Paul Anthony McDermott, on behalf of Mr. Guerin, said his client is no longer in control of the report and the dispute is now between Mr. Shatter and the Taoiseach.

He also questioned whether such editing could take place or whether it would have to be rewritten and reminded the court that Mr. Shatter had an opportunity to take legal action before it was published but failed to do so.

A judgement on the applications will be delivered at a later date.