THE wife of a Dublin man whose body was left in the Phoenix Park for six days even though the discovery was reported to gardai, has accused the police of neglect.
The family is considering taking legal action against the Garda, has urged the Garda Commissioner to publish the findings of an internal inquiry which began over two months ago.
Ms Betty Roche, whose husband, Matthew Swan, died of a heart attack in December, told an inquest yesterday that she believed gardai were neglectful when they failed to accompany a girl who had reported finding the body to the scene, or to ask her name and address so she could be contacted later.
Sarah Geoghegan (17) from Blackhorse Avenue, Dublin, told the inquest that she saw a man's body near the polo grounds of the Phoenix Park when she stopped to give her dog a drink of water last December 8th.
She shook the branches near him and called out to him, but he did not respond. She did not know if he was dead, but he appeared to be unconscious.
She reported the matter to a garda on duty at the city gate of Aras an Uachtarain and was told that he would look after the matter. She was not asked for her name or address and was told she was free to go.
Six days later, while jogging, Ms Geoghegan saw the body in the same place. "I immediately ran up to the gate of the President's residence and spoke to the garda on duty, " she told the inquest.
The body, which was badly decomposed, was later identified that of 54-year-old Matthew Swan, who had been sleeping rough in Phoenix Park for a number of years.
The Garda says the area searched after the initial report but no body was found, the inquest heard.
"The family are very unhappy with the failure of the gardai to accompany Ms Geoghegan to the scene on December 8th when she first saw the body," Councillor Christy Burke, a friend of the family, said.
"What happened was totally and utterly unacceptable and caused great distress and humiliation to the family. There was a possibility that he could still have been alive. A park ranger had seen him about a week earlier and he looked in good health."
Ms Woche, he said, had not heard whether the Garda investiation into the incident had been completed.
The garda to whom the original report was made was not at the inquest yesterday and was not named in court. The inquest was told he did not appear because he was not called to give evidence.
The Garda has said that Ms Roche may be called to give evidence if a sworn inquiry into the discovery of Mr Swan's body is carried out.
A post-mortem examination showed that Mr Swan died of a heart attack. Hypothermia may also have been a factor in his death. He is believed to have died around the beginning of December.
A verdict of death by natural causes was returned at the inquest.