The case has implications for freedom of the press, writes Stephen Collins, Political Editor.
The arrest of a journalist for publishing details of the Commission of Investigation into the Dean Lyons case, before the publication of the official report, was raised in the Dáil yesterday with the main Opposition parties querying the implications of the case for the freedom of the press.
A leaked version of the commission report was published by the Evening Herald last summer and yesterday the journalist who wrote the report, Mick McCaffrey, and a Garda sergeant, were taken into custody and questioned about the circumstances surrounding the leak.
The Commission of Investigation into how Dean Lyons came to be wrongfully charged with the murder of two women in sheltered accommodation in Grangegorman, Co Dublin, in 1997 was conducted by George Birmingham SC. He submitted his report to the Minister for Justice last August and it was published formally the following month.
Announcing receipt of the report on August 10th last, the Department of Justice referred to the Evening Herald report on the matter the same day.
"The department is aware that one newspaper has today printed articles purported to be based on the report.
"The department is not in a position to comment on the accuracy or otherwise of those articles. Under the Commission of Investigation Act, 2004, a commission - before submitting a report to a Minister - must send a draft of the report or the relevant part of the report to any person identified in the report.
"A person who receives a draft of the report or part thereof commits an offence if he or she discloses its contents without the consent of the commission or to the extent necessary for the purposes of an application to the court.
"This offence applies to individuals and to body corporates and attracts a fine of up to €300,000 and, in the case of an individual, imprisonment up to five years," said the department at the time.
Government sources said yesterday that the provision in the Act making it an offence to publish a report of a commission of investigation in advance of formal publication was designed to protect witnesses, who are entitled to see the draft before publication so that they can make corrections to the findings.
"This is all to do with natural justice and protecting individual rights. It has nothing to do with limiting the freedom of the press," said one source.
However, Fine Gael justice spokesman, Jim O'Keeffe, who raised the matter in the Dáil, later questioned the basis of the arrests.
"It is a hugely serious matter when a journalist is arrested for publishing a story," he said.
"This is a matter of great importance because the democratic system is challenged when the press is assaulted. I wanted to see if the Taoiseach would offer a view on this but unfortunately he did not chooses to give his opinion. I also wanted to see if the Minister for Justice was prepared to comment.
"The Minister needs to clarify what is at issue in the case, how much he was aware of it and whether he had any role in it," said Mr O'Keeffe.
He added that his understanding of the arrests was that they arose from the publication of, what was in effect, a preview of the Dean Lyons report.
The Department of Justice refused to comment yesterday but sources said that the first they heard about the arrests was on the RTÉ news. The Garda inquiry has being going on since last August.
It appears the arrests were carried out under the terms of the Commission of Investigation Act, 2004, and have nothing to do with the Garda Síochána Act of the following year which made it an offence for members of the force to divulge information obtained in the course of duty.
That Act made it a serious offence to disclose information that was likely to have a harmful effect.
It provided for fines of up to €3,000 or 12 months in prison on summary conviction, or fines of up to €50,000 or five years on indictment for more serious offences.