The chairman of the Morris tribunal has said that he cannot rely on the evidence of a private investigator on two points which test the credibility of Det Sgt John White.
Billy Flynn, the private detective hired by the McBrearty family to clear their name after they were wrongly identified as murder suspects a decade ago, was recalled to the tribunal yesterday at the request of the Garda Commissioner.
The commissioner's counsel wished to question Mr Flynn about notes he said he had taken at a December 2001 meeting in Mr Flynn's home in Enfield, Co Meath.
At the meeting, which lasted several hours, Mr White alleged that conversations between prisoners and visitors in Letterkenny Garda station in 1996 were secretly recorded by gardaí.
Mr Flynn said the meeting was one of several he had with Mr White and that he was told by the sergeant that he had heard recordings of conversations between solicitors and two women arrested during the investigation into the death of cattle dealer Richie Barron.
At the end of his evidence on Wednesday, Mr Flynn said he was unwell and might not be in a position to continue his evidence.
The chairman said that he was scheduled to continue and asked that either he appear or arrange for his doctor to appear and explain why he could not be present.
Yesterday Mr Justice Frederick Morris said he had received from Mr Flynn "a many-paged highly critical letter to me, critical of me, critical of the way that I treated him yesterday."
The chairman said he was aware that Mr Flynn was "not a well person" and said he did not propose to rely on his evidence because of "the manner in which he gave his evidence, on the state of his health and the lapse of time between now and when this event occurred, and the fact that this is one of a number of notes that were taken by Mr Flynn at that time.
"I would not propose at the present time to rely on Mr Flynn's evidence.
"That would mean that there would be no necessity for anyone, either Sgt White or anybody else, to take Mr Flynn to task with the accuracy of the note that he made at that time."
"Nor would it be necessary for Sgt White or anybody else to take Mr Flynn to task with his recollection as to whether this was a one- off meeting or one of a series of meetings.
Michael Durack SC, for the Garda Commissioner, said he would need to seek instructions from the commissioner on the chairman's determination.