THE political controversy surrounding the delay in delisting Judge Dominic Lynch from the Special Criminal Court will be rerun in High Court hearings by 16 high security prisoners next week.
This was signalled by the Minister for Justice in the Dail yesterday when she announced that officials in her Department had been asked to prepare affidavits for the hearings.
Mrs Owen also said the senior counsel retained by the State to fight the cases had been advised privilege should be claimed for the Attorney General's letter to the Minister on November 1st. Because privilege was being claimed, she could not make that letter public, she added.
Only one new fact emerged in the hour long question and answer session in the Dail yesterday about the circumstances surrounding the failure to inform Judge Lynch of the Government's decision of August 1st to remove him from the Special Criminal Court.
Mrs Owen told Ms Liz O'Donnell, Progressive Democrats justice spokeswoman, that an unnamed solicitor in the Chief State Solicitor's Office informed the registrar of the Special Criminal Court on the evening of Tuesday November 5th, that there was a problem with Judge Lynch. The registrar contacted Official J in her Department that same evening to ask whether Judge Lynch "had retired from the bench".
Mr John O'Donoghue, Fianna Fail spokesman on justice, and Mr Michael McDowell of the PDs, said the Chief State Solicitor's Office came under the direction of the Attorney General's Office. They asked whether this solicitor had been interviewed by the inquiry. Mrs Owen said she did not know. She also admitted that "today was the first day that I knew that this solicitor existed".
The Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, asked if any member of the Government, or any senior officials on behalf of the Government, were involved in seeking disciplinary action against any officials in her Department.
Confessing that there were "very robust exchanges" in Cabinet in relation to this matter, Mrs Owen said there was no question of anybody being threatened or asked to resign before the inquiry.
