A Garda inspector said his career had suffered for submitting inaccurate expenses for witness Bernard Conlon, who was taken to Co Donegal to identify an alleged assailant.
Insp Gerard Connolly of Sligo station said he put in the claims for Mr Conlon, who was taken to Letterkenny, Co Donegal. He said his career had suffered as a result of the claims he put in and he was disciplined for it.
Mr Conlon said he made a false statement about being threatened with a silver bullet into not giving evidence at a licensing case against the McBreartys. He falsely identified two members of the McBrearty family, Mark McConnell and Michael Peoples, as being the men who threatened him. He alleged he did this at the instigation of Det Sgt John White, who has denied all allegations.
Insp Connolly said he brought Mr Conlon to Letterkenny as he had been told Mr McConnell would be there. He said he had believed Mr Conlon's story at the time. Mr McConnell was arrested on October 1st, 1998, but there was no prosecution.
Senior counsel Anthony Barr, for the tribunal, asked why he had put in a subsistence claim for a second morning when Mr Conlon had only been in Co Donegal for the day. He had also put in a claim for Mr Conlon's bus fare when he was taken to and from Letterkenny in the patrol car.
"I have suffered for that," Insp Connolly said.
Mr Barr said the bus fare was £12.50 which Insp Connolly had said was to keep Mr Conlon sweet and then he discovered the bus times would not get Mr Conlon there. He was taken back to Sligo late that same night.
Insp Connolly said he submitted subsistence for the next morning as he had grounded that on the bus times.
"I shouldn't have claimed that," he said. Asked why he had accepted a separate certificate of earnings for loss of wages for two days for Mr Conlon, he said: "I felt he was entitled to two days' wages." He said that on December 8th, 1998, he was told Mr Peoples had been arrested after Mr Conlon identified him to a garda in Letterkenny courthouse.
Asked why Mr Peoples was not arrested until six months later while Mr McConnell was arrested immediately, Insp Connolly said it was coming up to Christmas and they were busy. They had a murder investigation under way and he was away in January and early February in the US.
In February or March 1998, a member of the Carty investigation team, who was in Sligo station, told him to defer Mr People's arrest. The arrest was eventually made in May 1998. Mr Peoples was not prosecuted.