Vol. 472 No. 1
241 Mr. O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Justice the way in which she came to receive a letter from the Attorney General dated 1 November 1996, but failed to receive a letter from the Attorney General dated 2 October 1996; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22767/96]
250 Mr. O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Justice the way in which she came to receive a letter from Judge Dominic Lynch dated 2 July 1996; and the reason she failed to receive a letter from this judge which was sent on 10 October 1996. [22792/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 241 and 250 together.
The report of the inquiry which I established to investigate the failure to inform Judge Lynch of the Government decision of 1 August 1996 removing him from the Special Criminal Court established the sequence of events which led to this failure. The report deals with the receipt of and follow-up action on correspondence from Judge Lynch and the Attorney General and in this regard I refer the Deputy specifically to pages 4, 6 and 7 of this report.
As I have already stated in this House and as the report of the inquiry itself acknowledges it was not possible to obtain answers to all the questions raised in this matter.
242 Mr. O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Justice if she will give details of the written communications which she had with the Attorney General concerning the decision of the Government during August 1996, to delist Judge Dominic Lynch as a member of the Special Criminal Court; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22770/96]
247 Mr. O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Justice if she will give details of the written communications which she had with the Attorney General concerning the decision of the Government dated 1 August 1996, to delist Judge Dominic Lynch as a member of the Special Criminal Court; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22784/96]
252 Mr. O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Justice whether she will publish all correspondence which she had with the Attorney General in relation to the delisting of Judge Dominic Lynch from the Special Criminal Court; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22796/96]
253 Mr. O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Justice; if she will give details of the written communications which she had with the Attorney General concerning the decision of the Government during September 1996, to delist Judge Dominic Lynch as a member of the Special Criminal Court; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22797/96]
255 Mr. O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Justice if she will give details of the written communications which she had with the Attorney General concerning the decision of the Government during November 1996 to delist Judge Dominic Lynch as a member of the Special Criminal Court; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22800/96]
256 Mr. O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Justice whether she will make available to Dáil Éireann all the correspondence relating to the delisting of Judge Dominic Lynch from the Special Criminal Court, including the Attorney General's correspondence with her and any correspondence she had with him. [22801/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 242, 247, 252, 253, 255 and 256 together.
During my statement to the House on 12 November, I put on the record, with the permission of Judge Lynch, his letter to me of 2 July, his undated letter of 10 October 1996 and his letter of 11 November, 1996.
With regard to the correspondence I received from the Attorney General the position is that the Attorney General's letter of 2 October was published in the report of the inquiry which I established to investigate this matter. The Attorney General's letter of 1 November contains legal advice and, as I informed this House on 21 November, senior counsel retained by the State to deal with applications currently before the courts has advised that privilege be claimed in respect of this letter. I am not therefore in a position to make it available to the Deputy.
The only other correspondence which issued in this matter were the letters which issued on 7 November informing Judge Lynch, the President of the Circuit Court and the Special Criminal Court Registrar of the Government decision of 1 August 1996 to terminate the appointment of Judge Lynch as a member of the Special Criminal Court.
I also acknowledged receipt of the Attorney General's letter dated 1 November.
243 Mr. O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Justice whether she brought the proposals to delist Judge Dominic Lynch as a member of the Special Criminal Court to the Government for decision on 1 August 1996; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22776/96]
249 Mr. O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Justice the person who submitted the Memorandum for Government which secured the delisting of Judge Dominic Lynch from the Special Criminal Court to the Government on 1 August 1996; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22791/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 243 and 249 together.
I, as Minister for Justice, submitted the Memorandum for Government upon which the Government based their decision of 1 August, 1996 to terminate the appointment of Judge Dominic Lynch as a member of the Special Criminal Court.
244 Mr. O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Justice whether she will accept responsibility for the failure to delist Judge Dominic Lynch as a member of the Special Criminal Court following a Government decision of 1 August 1996; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22777/96]
I set out my position fully on all aspects of this matter in the course of my statements to the House on 7 and 12 November and, further, in the course of my statements on 20 November and in replies to questions on 20 and 21 November.
245 Mr. O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Justice the reason she did not telephone Judge Lynch about his undated letter before she made her statement in Dáil Éireann on Thursday, 7 November 1996. [22781/96]
As I informed this House in my statement of Tuesday 12 November, Judge Lynch's undated letter was brought to my attention shortly before I left my office to address the House on this matter on that day.
As soon as the opportunity arose I spoke with Judge Lynch who clarified by letter on Monday, 11 November, that he posted the letter on the afternoon of 10 October 1996. I made this information available on the day I received it, that is, 11 November, 1996.
251 Mr. O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Justice the person whose responsibility it was to tell the President of the Special Criminal Court and Judge Dominic Lynch that Judge Lynch was no longer a member of the Special Criminal Court; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22794/96]
There is no post of president of the Special Criminal Court.
The implementation of Government decisions relating to membership of the Special Criminal Court is a matter for the courts division in my Department. The failure to implement the Government decision of 1 August 1996 terminating the appointment of Judge Dominic Lynch as a judge of the Special Criminal Court was dealt with in the report of the inquiry which I established into this matter and I refer the Deputy to that report.
As I informed this House in my statement of 20 November, in order to ensure that such a failure of the kind does not arise again, I have already put in place a set of written procedures, requiring that all Government decisions affecting the Judiciary will be referred, among others, to the assistant secretary of the courts division.
