DISCIPLINARY proceedings have been initiated against "certain officials" in the Department of Justice on foot of the failure to implement the Government decision to delist Judge Dominic Lynch from the Special Criminal Court. was announced by the Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, yesterday following the internal inquiry's recommendation that "management must confront individuals who are deemed to have failed."
It is understood that the secretary of the Department, Mr Tim Dalton, has already instructed that the formal preparation of the allegations against an unspecified number of officials should be set in train.
Statements are now being prepared, in accordance with the Civil Service disciplinary code. They were not finalised last night.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said that it was impossible to identify by name, official designation or rank the number of officials being considered for disciplinary action.
Government sources indicated, however, that the secretary, Mr Dalton, and the Minister's programme manager, Ms Linda O'Shea Farren, who were circulated with the Government decision of August 1st "for information", would be exempt from action.
Up to five officials, therefore, could be subject to disciplinary proceedings even though the inquiry, conducted by Mr Sean Cromien and Dr Eddie Molloy, baulked at blaming individual civil servants for the Lynch debacle.
The disciplinary code can be applied to officers found guilty of "misconduct, irregularity, neglect or unsatisfactory behaviour" and various sanctions, ranging from the deferral of an increment to a transfer or dismissal, can be recommended.
The initiation of disciplinary proceedings against officials of her department was one of a package of measures announced by the Minister, Mrs Owen, to deal with "the chapter of accidents, each of which reinforced the adverse effects of the other" in a lack lustre Dail debate on the Lynch affair yesterday.
In a day of heated exchanges, walk outs and an adjournment over the limited nature of the debate offered by the Government, the Progressive Democrats refused to participate in the "parliamentary charade" and Fianna Fail took part in the proceedings only "under protest".
The chief whips of the two opposition parties, Mr Dermot Ahern and Ms Liz O'Donnell, alleged that the Government had broken a whips' agreement made last week that the debate would not be scheduled on the same day as more than 60 questions were tabled to the Taoiseach and the Minister for Justice.
These questions, many of which related to the Attorney General's knowledge of the Lynch debacle, were ruled out of order.
The Ceann Comhairle, Mr Sean Treacy, disallowed some of these questions about the Attorney General's role on the grounds that the Taoiseach had no official responsibility to the Dail on the matter. Other questions impinged "on the collective responsibility of the Government".
The demands of the Opposition parties were that the Attorney General's second letter of November 1st should be published; the whips' agreement should be honoured; and a special Dail committee should now conduct hearings into the inquiry's findings.
Mrs Owen told the Dail that she accepted the findings and recommendations of the Justice inquiry. She would be carrying out actions in the short, medium and long terms to ensure that "nothing short of a comprehensive transformation of the Department of Justice" was carried out.
in order to modernise procedures in the Department, she announced that management consultants would carry out an analysis of its functions and produce an interim report by February 1st. The assistant secretary who headed up the courts division before Ireland's EU Presidency was being recalled from his duties in Brussels.
She also announced that new procedures to deal with Government decisions, all judicial appointments and letters to the Minister from major public officeholders were being put in place.
Mrs Owen will face an hour long question and answer session on the Lynch affair before the Dail debate concludes this evening. The Progressive Democrats are due to return to the Dail to a participate in the session.
