The case that throws witness protection programme under the spotlight

Special Correspondent Michael Clifford details a case that provides a rare glimpse into the State’s witness security programme and how the whole process of relocating witnesses is fraught with danger

DAVID Mooney lost his High Court action last Tuesday. Mr Mooney is not a well-known name, but his story and the action that ended last week shine a light into an area of the criminal justice system that is necessarily shrouded in mystery.

Once upon a time Mooney was in the State’s witness security programme, the process set up following the murder of Veronica Guerin. The programme is designed to relocate witnesses in serious criminal trials for their own protection.