Morris tribunal: The senior garda responsible for telephone records required for criminal investigations met management of Telecom Éireann's billing system in early 1997 to discuss delays in getting replies to requests, the Morris tribunal heard.
The meeting took place around the same time that gardaí in Donegal were experiencing extreme delays in obtaining phone records during the investigation into the death of Raphoe cattle dealer Richie Barron.
Retired chief superintendent Michael Diffley told the tribunal that he met the billing section of Telecom Éireann and outlined problems in the system.
"We devised a system of prioritising the ones that were very urgent so that they could be dealt with immediately," Mr Diffley said. "We'd stamp them with a certain stamp, 'extremely urgent' or something like that."
At the time, Telecom Éireann was the only telephone service carrier in the State. Mr Diffley said the company experienced problems because it was necessary to shut the billing system to access telephone records.
Mr Diffley said he was told "verbally" that the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform was going to purchase additional equipment "which would allow the carrier not to have to shut down their billing system to supply the information we desired." "Did you get that?" asked tribunal senior counsel Paul McDermott.
"I'm not aware," said Mr Diffley.
Mr Diffley said there was a sense of "frustration, but filled with a realisation that the people who were providing the service were doing their best, but they did not have the resources."
Gardaí in Donegal experienced delays of several months in obtaining phone records during the inquiry into the October 1996 death of Mr Barron. In particular, there were delays in finding records for a series of hoax telephone calls made to Michael Peoples, one of which originated from the home of a Raphoe garda, John O'Dowd.
Mr Diffley, who was nominated by the Garda commissioner to handle requests for telephone records, said he "would not necessarily be aware of whether [ a request] was responded to or not." "Regrettably delays were the order of the day," said Mr Diffley.
Responsibility for monitoring and following up on applications fell to the person who made the application to him. "We didn't have the luxury of the resources to follow up on every application."
Mr Diffley said staff at Telecom Éireann were "fine guys" but "their priority remained the issuing of bills," and processing a Garda request meant shutting down the system.
Also yesterday, the tribunal heard evidence in closed session from Insp Michael Finan and Garda Andrew O'Rourke, as well as from Mr Diffley.