A file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions on three gardaí arrested in Donegal at the weekend as part of an investigation into alleged Garda corruption in the region.
The three - one of whom is a sergeant and the other two gardaí - were arrested early on Saturday on foot of statements they made to the Carty investigation team. They were released later that day without charge.
All three were questioned about making false statements and wasting Garda time. Questions about their behaviour had already been raised in the opening statement of Morris tribunal, which is investigating a range of allegations against gardaí in the Donegal division.
The three included an official of the Garda Representative Association whose dealings with the Carty investigation team has attracted comment from the tribunal.
In an internal Garda inquiry between February 1999 and May 2000, the Assistant Commissioner, Mr Kevin Carty, examined a number of the allegations now at the centre of the tribunal's investigations. The tribunal in its opening statement praised the inquiry, saying "it would be difficult for any objective observer not to be impressed by the thoroughness of the Carty investigation and the diligence and commitment with which those investigations were followed through".
Two members of the force are already facing charges as a result of the Carty inquiry, which reported to the DPP. The Carty report, however, expressed concern about the level of co-operation given by certain gardaí to the investigation.
It remarked: "Despite the intensity of the investigation, a number of matters remain unresolved. Two gardaí have continued to refuse to give . . . accounts of their respective activities on the night Richard Barron was killed. This, coupled with a pronounced economy of truth from some witnesses and a distinct untruthfulness and obstruction from others, leaves the investigation short of its overall objective, which is the establishment of the truth."
Among the allegations examined by the Carty inquiry and now the tribunal, was an attempt by gardaí to frame certain individuals for the killing of cattle-dealer Richie Barron in October 1996.
The three gardaí questioned on Saturday were arrested shortly after 8 a.m. in various locations in Donegal, according to a short Garda statement.