The Secretary of the Department of Justice made a compliant to gardai that led to the controversial arrest of a journalist it emerged today.
Mick McCaffrey was arrested yesterday over a news report quoting from a then unpublished Government-commissioned inquiry into a young drug addict being accused of a savage double murder.
Minister for Jusctice Michael McDowell
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell told the Dail today that he was aware a complaint had been made to gardai by the head of his department Sean Aylward but that he was not aware that detectives were going to arrest Mr McCaffrey.
MrMcDowell told the Dáil:
"The newspaper itself was warned that it was a criminal offence to publish the material before it [the department] published the material and the Secretary General in those circumstances decided himself when the publication took place that he would make a complaint to members of an Garda Siochana."
"I had no idea on that occasion that this was going to happen to him and I like him very, very much as an individual. He's a decent hard-working journalist."
Mr McDowell later issued a statement saying he backed his department actions, adding that the Evening Heraldhad been warned that it may have been breaking the law.
He also said his officials had checked the news report and found it to have quoted from the draft report which caused his officials great concern.
"Section 34 of the Commission of Investigation Act requires that a draft report or relevant extract be sent by the Commission to any person named in the report so that they can submit observations, seek amendments or apply to court to ensure that their constitutional rights are not infringed."
Mr McCaffrey today accepted Mr McDowell's statement the he did not know there was going to an arrest at "face value".
Speaking on RTE radio he said the newspaper had made several inquiries to the department that were not returned and had only been made aware of that publication may be in breach of the law after the newspaper had gone to print.
Mr Caffrey said he had been questioned several times during his detention but treated well by gardai and not held in a cell.
"I don't think gardaí want to be investigating journalists and I don't think they want to be investigating guards either. Unfortunately the gardai had no other option in this case."
Mr McCaffrey was arrested yesterday under legislation introduced by Mr McDowell barring gardai from leaking or publishing unreleased information from a tribunal or commission of inquiry.
The Act provides for a five year jail sentence and a fine of up to €300,000 on conviction. Mr McCaffrey was held for eight hours after presenting himself to Harcourt Terrace Garda station expecting to be interviewed but not arrested.
He was questioned over a report published by the Evening Heraldin August last year which detailed criticism of Garda conduct contained in an unpublished report by Commission of Inquiry report into the Dean Lyons affair.
Mr Birmingham's report was released three weeks later.
The inquiry conducted by George Birmingham SC found detectives questioning of Mr Lyons was inappropriate, and that records of the interviews were potentially misleading and may have led to a miscarriage of justice.
Mr Lyons was charged with the murder of Sylvia Sheils (59) and Mary Callinan (61) who were stabbed to death in their beds in March 1997 in sheltered accommodation run by St Brendan's psychiatric hospital in Grangegorman, Dublin.
The charges were dropped after seven months and Mr Lyons later died in England from a heroin overdose a day agfter being released form jail where he was serving a short sentence.
Mr McCaffrey, who as a crime reporter with the Heraldat the time, and
is now crime editor in the Sunday Tribune,had previously assisted detectives inquiring into the leak but said he was surprised when he was arrested.
He was released last night along with the Garda who was questioned separately and a file has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The arrest was stronglt criticised by National Union of Journalists irish secretary Seamus Dooley who noted that " publication of inconvenient truths is the function of journalism".
"It's hard not to believe that the purpose of this legislation and the purpose of the arrest, and the manner in which it was carried out, is to send a signal to journalists, particularly coming up to an election that 'By God, we'll leak, by God we'll spin but we'll do it our way'," Mr Dooley said.
Additonal reporting PA