THE MINISTER for Justice and the Garda Commissioner have asked the High Court to halt a legal action by a man aimed at securing an inquiry into his claims that senior gardaí are in collusion with journalists to set him up to be murdered.
Brian O’Reilly (42), with an address at Northlands, Bettystown, Co Meath, secured leave from the High Court in December 2010 to bring judicial review proceedings aimed at compelling the Minister for Justice to order an inquiry, under Section 42 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007, into a matter of public concern relating to the conduct of the Garda towards Mr O’Reilly.
Mr O’Reilly, who narrowly escaped death in August 2010 when he was shot twice in his local pub, wants an inquiry into his claims that gardaí unlawfully concealed intelligence information available to them relating to threats on his life.
He also secured leave to seek orders restraining gardaí passing on intelligence information to certain members of the print media and engaging in collusive conduct with journalists which might expose him to risk of being shot. Permission was also granted to seek orders compelling the Garda Commissioner to fully investigate the sources of alleged leaks to journalists.
The court heard Mr O’Reilly was told last February the Minister did not intend to establish an inquiry into his complaints.
Yesterday, Shane Murphy SC, for the Minister and the Garda Commissioner, said the decision to grant Mr O’Reilly leave to bring his proceedings should be set aside on grounds the action had no reasonable chance of success and the reliefs sought could not be granted via judicial review.
The Minister had discretion under the 2007 Act on whether to grant an inquiry or not, and there was “no legal basis” on which Mr O’Reilly could compel the Minister to hold an inquiry, counsel said.
In this case, the Minister had exercised his discretion not to establish an inquiry.
Counsel said Mr O’Reilly had alternative courses of action open to him, including making a complaint to the Garda Ombudsman, a complaint to the Garda, or other court proceedings.
While he had declined to make a complaint either to the Garda or the ombudsman, Mr O’Reilly had initiated other court proceedings in relation to his complaints, Mr Murphy said.
Opposing the State’s application, Ciaran O’Loughlin SC, with Alan Toal, for Mr O’Reilly, said the motion to set aside the judicial review was an attempt by the State to avoid having to reply to Mr O’Reilly’s belief that information indicating his life was in danger was not passed on to him by the Garda and his question of whether information about him was being given to journalists by gardaí.
The action should go to a full hearing, counsel argued. After hearing closing arguments from both sides, Mr Justice John Hedigan reserved judgment on the application.
In an affidavit grounding his application for judicial review, Mr O’Reilly said that, since Eamon Dunne, a friend of his, had been shot, Mr O’Reilly had become the target of considerable media speculation that he had taken over control of the drugs and crime organisation left vacant by Dunne’s death.
“This is vehemently denied and has no basis in foundation or fact,” he said.
After he was shot at, Mr O’Reilly said certain newspapers had asserted he had been advised by gardaí of a threat to his life.
The only way journalists could have known this was if gardaí had informed them, he claimed.
He said he was never advised by the Garda, prior to the pub attack, that his life was in danger, and was only told afterwards. It was “blatantly untrue” for journalists to suggest otherwise, he said.