Morris tribunal:The former chairman of the Garda Complaints Board said he regretted that the statutory body lacked the power and resources to investigate fully claims of corruption and harassment made by members of the extended McBrearty family against gardaí in Co Donegal.
Séamus McKenna SC gave evidence on how the statutory body dealt with a series of complaints from the McBrearty family dating from late 1996 to 1998.
He is the final witness to appear before the tribunal, which will hear closing submissions in the last two modules on Thursday and Friday.
Mr McKenna said the board was provided with progress reports from Chief Supt John Carey, the senior garda appointed to investigate many of the complaints. "This was the only case in my time with the board in which this procedure was adopted. All the members of the board were concerned about it."
He was concerned at the potential for an "appalling vista" that the Donegal cases presented. "Not only was there some guards in Donegal who were corrupt, but there was a large conspiracy - if what McBrearty said was true - who were engaged in a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice."
The board met to consider the complaints in May 1999, the largest related group to come to its attention, but deferred a decision pending the outcome of several district court cases and an internal Garda investigation led by Assistant Commissioner Kevin Carty.
"By hindsight it looks bad that the complaints board deferred and didn't take any further action," Mr McKenna said. "I take full responsibility for that."
However he would prefer to be criticised for postponing the decision than to have reached the wrong decision.
He had "mixed feelings" when the McBrearty family eventually withdrew their complaints, because it meant they had not reached a satisfactory conclusion.
"I am very glad we didn't [ come to a wrong conclusion] because it probably would have been a very wrong one in this case," he said.