A defence lawyer for Mr John Gilligan, who is accused of the murder of journalist Ms Veronica Guerin, told the Special Criminal Court todaythat the protected witnesses in the trial were "compromised witnesses" who threatened the entire criminal justice system.
Mr Michael O'Higgins said that the Witness Protection Programme was a controversial system and a similar system known as "supergrass trials" had run in Northern Ireland in the 1980's before eventually collapsing.
Mr O'Higgins said he would not use the description "supergrasses" or "protected witnesses" but he thought a fair description was "compromised witnesses."
He said the relationship that existed between these witnesses and the State was such that the witnesses were "utterly compromised."
"It threatens to compromise the entire criminal justice system as we understand it," he added.
"What has occurred in this case comes close to jeopardising the entire system as we know it," he said.
Mr O'Higgins said that a decision had been taken by senior members of the gardaí, backed up by the Minister for Justice and with the approval of the Director of Public Prosecutions whereby the witnesses would not be prosecuted for serious crimes, would be protected and would receive financial benefits and concessions such as temporary release from prison.
Mr O'Higgins was making the closing defence submissions on the forty second day of the trial of Mr John Gilligan. Mr Gilligan (48), with addresses at Corduff Avenue, Blanchardstown, Dublin; Jessbrook Equestrian Centre, Mucklon, Enfield, Co Kildare; and HM Prison Belmarsh, London, who has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Sunday Independent crime reporter Ms Veronica Guerin (37) at Naas Road, Clondalkin, Dublin on June 26th, 1996.
Mr Gilligan also denies fifteen other counts alleging the importation of cannabis and firearms and ammunition offences.The prosecution has claimed that Mr Gilligan was the leader of a drugs gang and played a leading part in a pre arranged plan to shoot Ms Guerin.
Earlier Mr O'Higgins said protected witness Charles Bowden's evidence does not "pass muster."
He submitted that the court should "effectively disregard" everythingBowden told the gardaí since March,1997 and he said the court should not even consider Bowden's evidence.
He said that one of the problems an accused man faceswhen confronted by allegations made by an accomplice is that the allegations can "have a ring of truth."
"The accomplice holds many of the cards and can recount a coherent picture and can weave outside parties into it."
Mr O' Higgins said that while Russell Warren claimed to have spent quite a bit of time with Mr Gilligan and to have been in almost daily telephone contact, Bowden had a problem.
"He didn't spend any time in Bowden's company," he said.
He said Bowdenas a member of the Greenmount gang could give a detailed account of his contacts with other members of the gang, he did not have any contact with Mr Gilligan.
In his first accounts to the gardaí in October, 1996, Bowden said that he met a man outside the Gresham Hotel and gave him money on Brian Meehan's instructions and that he had a telephone call with a man he believed was Mr Gilligan about bringing in guns.
"That was the high water mark in terms of his alleged contact with John Gilligan - a mobile phone call and a supposed meeting with John Gilligan," he said.
Mr O'Higgins said that when Bowden returned to Ireland in custody in March 1997 he then told gardai that he had met Gilligan in Gilligan's brother Thomas's house.
He said that the meeting could only have taken place some time in September 1996 and it was conceded that Gilligan was in Ireland for a couple of days in that month.
Mr O' Higgins said that in that month ``the papers were running riot with speculation on who was responsible for Veronica Guerin's murder and Mr Gilligan was the ogre.''
He said that Bowden claimed to have met Gilligan himself around that time and was arrested by the gardai a short time afterwards and told them nothing about this alleged meeting.
"The meeting in Thomas Gilligan's house has the feel of a made up meeting," he added.
"This is the first opportunity to meet the ogre himselfsince June 26th. It was unbelievable he would not havea recollection about what was talked about," counsel said.
Mr O'Higgins said that Bowden was unable to give any specificsabout the lay out of the house and his account was highly supportive of being "a façade".
He also submitted that Bowden's account of meeting Mr Gilligan at the Ambassador Hotel in Co Kildare was "demonstrated to be lies."
He said that the prosecution had also produced evidence of calls between Bowden's mobile phone and a mobile phone in Mr Gilligan's name.
"If the prosecution case is correct Mr Gilligan is the man who ran and controlled this whole Greenmount gang, yet was invisible," he said.
Mr O'Higgins said that it would have taken "a large degree of organisation and care" to run this gang yet days before the Guerin murder, Mr Gilligan was supposed to be making calls on his own phone to Bowden discussing drugs deals.
The defence submissions continue tomorrow.