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THE SOLE MEMBER of the Tribunal investigating alleged Garda collusion in the murder of two RUC officials in 1989 has asked the Oireachtas for a nine-month extension to its deadline to issue its final report.
Justice Peter Smithwick has written to the Clerk of the Dáil asking that the current deadline – set for the end of October – be moved to the end of next July, as a vital witness has fallen ill and needs time to recover before had can be questioned again.
Retired detective Garda sergeant Owen Corrigan, who is one of the three former Gardaí with a legal representative at the Tribunal, has been providing oral testimony since last June.
However, he has been advised by doctors to only give evidence for two hours at a time, and a maximum of twice a week.
There were some occasions on which Corrigan was unable to attend the Tribunal at all, and his examination by his own Counsel has yet to be finished. On top of this, he is still to be examined by legal counsel representing the Tribunal itself and the Garda Commissioner.
Last month Corrigan was hospitalised and is now in urgent need of a heart bypass, but will need about two months of antibiotics to prepare for the surgery and three months to recover from it.
Smithwick’s letter also reveals that the British authorities have notified the Tribunal of “twelve further strands of intelligence” which relate to the Tribunal’s terms of reference, some of which involves a member of the Gardaí who is not already being investigated by the Tribunal.
This also required further investigation, but was likely to be concluded before the end of the year and was not reliant on any evidence from Corrigan.
“I must estimate that the Tribunal may require until March/April for the completion of its public hearings,” Smithwick wrote.
“On the basis of my previous estimate as regards the time required for the writing of my report, I accordingly seek an extension of the deadline for the submission of the Tribunal’s final report until 31st July 2013.”
Any previous requests to extend the Tribunal’s deadline have all been approved, though justice minister Alan Shatter has previously been criticised for bringing forward its deadline – a move Smithwick said would give those looking to withhold evidence a target before which they could frustrate the Tribunal.
The Tribunal, which was established in 2005, is investigating alleged Garda collusion in the murders of RUC chief superintendent Harry Breen and superintendent Robert Buchanan on March 20, 1989.
The men were killed when returning from a meeting with Gardaí when they were ambushed by the Provisional IRA – prompting speculation that Gardaí had engaged with paramilitaries in the men’s murder.
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Solving the climate crisis and emissions is really about making the majority reduce their consumption through using less or paying more taxes so the elite can carry on as normal. If the govt or the world as a whole were serious then we would each have a carbon allowance, but how would that work, far easier to tax the lower income people on fuel for their cars,houses etc than ask the wealthy to stop flying private jets, driving cars that do 20mpg and leave a carbon footprint that’s massive compared to ordinary people.
If the ordinary car is such a threat, why are people being asked to go electric when to do so would either bankrupt them or mean they simply couldn’t afford a car. Its simply not going to happen unless somebody is making a fortune out of it.
@Rex Tilson: absolutely. A survey in the U.K. found that the top 15% of flyers took 70% of flights in that year (2014). Their Carbon costs are even higher because the top 15% fly more long haul and private jets. 50% of people didn’t fly that year but they did fly every second or third year.
Increasing carbon taxes would have little effect in any one year as it would penalise the people taking only 30% of the flights. Most of top 15% are rich enough to continue flying.
A voucher allowing one short haul return per person would massively reduce those flights while not affecting the bottom 85% of flyers who take one or none every year. Maybe corporations can have a few more vouchers. Otherwise – zoom.
At the very least we should ban private jets – are we all in this together or not.
There are chasms between Government words/plans and their actual actions, from health, education, infrastructure, etc decades of incompetence and cronyism.
The climate change advisory council?? Money for old rope for sure isn’t it. Anyway we the people soldier on. Chin up folks.
What’s telling for me, is the amount of rubish that comes outta the journal and all the other outlets singing from the same script. Money most be worth it, won’t last long.
Blah blah blah is right…..Go talk to the Chinese & American’s first
@Christopher Byrne: yep, and then we’ll be fed the same BS that the smallest countries must lead by example first.
according to the ESB data centres use 1/3 of the grids capacity. we bow to america all the time,,,banking crises, housing crises, homelessness, i think they global mind is changing and corporates with larger finances than countries are eventually gonna get reigned in. ofc we are gonna be the last to do it as usual. gombeen politics.
@Mick Heery: I understand that DC’s use a lot, but, do you have a link for the above claim of 1/3rd usage please?
The fact that Ireland has yet to switch to E10 petrol is very telling as to the seriousness of our climate strategy. Literally the lowest hanging fruit, it would remove the emissions equivalent of 100,000 cars off the road practically at the stroke of a pen. If we can’t do something that simple, I’m not sure we’re up to the more serious tasks..
Completely shutting down the import of UK car market totally contradicts govs emission fairytales since local consumer can not get a cleaner – newer car that falls under low co2 regulations from abroad (Since UK is the ONLY AND CLOSEST PLACE where wheel ks right-handed) leaving Irish motorists to use the old diesel engined cars since the car prices are sky high on the island.
The first thing that needs to happen is that people’s attitude needs to change so that they genuinely care and are motivated to make changes to support these goals..
I honestly believe that all the talk in this article will not make people care and threats will only make people do the opposite.
Governments here have a very poor track record on bringing people together as one Nation.
@Roger Bond: people’s attitudes will only change when they see politicians stop squandering billions on every single development they touch.
Start producing results. Not just throwing more taxes at people with no end result visible.
Personally I am more concerned about affording to put fuel in my car, getting appointments at hospital and paying my mortgage.
Regarding climate change I’m inclined to listen to someone who has seen it first hand & that’s David Attenborough, he has said due to climate change & it causing methane gas immissions there’s going to be at least 4/5 viruses per annum!
@Colette Kearns: Sir David frederick attenborough collette. Agree
“Climate Experts” … well. Looking through the history of mankind, the “Climate Experts” helped the society to deal with changes to the climate. They didn’t have computers or smartphones, but an open mind and common sense.
But now that we are in the days of “peoplekind”, our experts are more like the experts of the Aztecs. When the climate changed back in their days, their answer was to kill thousands in order to please their gods, so they’d stop the climate change.
I don’t want to hear another squeak about Planning for more big wind and solar, without first hearing all about the Planning for how they intend filling in the big intermittency gaps. Massive electrolysis plants here or there. Mega grid all over the place.
In reality though all this carbon account game, is just that, a silly game. The only way we will solve this problem is by fighting it as a Warming World War. We need the military industrial combines to stop making weapons and instead make thousands of new generation SMRs. and let the Australians make the fuel for them, instead of exporting vast quantities of coal.
More methane is already boiling out of the permafrost, than from a billion more cows. What the hell are we on about. If we could solve the problem by virtue signalling, it would be solved long ago.
@Nicholas Grubb: I agree…last night on Eirgrids dashboard there was nearly 4000MW of wind available but the grid could only absorb 2000MW so nearly 2000MW of wind power had to be turned off all night but the wind turbine owners still get paid for the curtailment.
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