The treatment of Frank Shortt by some members of An Garda Síochána was so bad there "was no alternative but for the Government to pursue its radical reform" of the force, the Minister for Justice Michael McDowell has said.
Commenting after yesterday's Supreme Court ruling, Mr McDowell said the circumstances that gave rise to the judgment constituted further evidence of an "extremely disturbing picture of Garda actions" in Donegal.
There was no comment on yesterday's judgment from Garda Headquarters. The Garda Representative Association and Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors also declined to comment.
Mr Shortt's solicitor Katherine Ward said the increase in the award to more than €4.6 million was beyond her client's "wildest dreams".
Mr McDowell said: "Anyone who strongly supports the Garda Síochána - as I and the vast majority of the people in this country do - is entitled to feel a great sense of shock, disappointment and dismay at what happened to Frank Shortt."
However, he was "heartened" by the Supreme Court's acknowledgment that the behaviour of two gardaí who were central to Mr Shortt's case "should not cast aside our respect for the dedication shown by the vast majority of members down through the years".
Former Supt Kevin Lennon has since been dismissed, while former Det Garda Noel McMahon resigned.
Mr McDowell said the case underlined the need for the reform process under way which has been provided for under the Garda Síochána Act. "Perhaps most importantly, the Garda Síochána Act imposes a clear statutory duty on every member of the force, when required to do so by a member of higher rank, to account truthfully for his or her action or inaction while on duty," Mr McDowell said.
"Failure to do so is sufficient grounds for disciplinary action which may lead to dismissal. These measures will ensure there will be no more walls of silence."
He said other measures in the Act that would help reform the force included: the creation of the Garda Ombudsman Commission and Garda Inspectorate; the creation of a Deputy Garda Commissioner post to lead a dedicated change management team; new more streamlined discipline regulations and the introduction of a whistleblowers' charter.
Ms Ward said Mr Shortt had never sought what she called a "Eurolottery" award. "But this exceeded our wildest expectations," she said. "As Judge Hardiman said, he was perjured into prison by gardaí.
"He also refers to the sheer evil of what was done. It doesn't appear that they bore him any ill will. They did it to further their own career, that is what is truly astounding about this."
She said Mr Shortt was treated poorly when in prison in that he was not granted periods of release for the birth of his grandchild or when his wife was ill in hospital.
"They didn't show him a shred of compassion," she said.
"In all the years nobody stood up and apologised to Frank Shortt. It was a very grudging apology that was dragged out of them [ the State] in the Supreme Court last year." Mr Shortt, she said, was now aged 72 and while "in indifferent health" he was "as well as could be expected".
