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File photo Sasko Lazarov/Photocall Ireland

Shatter to request July 2013 as new deadline for Smithwick Tribunal

The tribunal – which is looking into whether there was Garda collusion in the deaths of two RUC officers – had an original deadline of 1 June 2012, before it was extended again to the end of October.

THE MINISTER FOR Justice, Equality and Defence, Alan Shatter, has today said that he will put motions before the Dáil and Seanad in order to extend the deadline for the Smithwick Tribunal to 31 July, 2013.

The news comes just days after Justice Peter Smithwick wrote to the Clerk of the Dáil to request an extension to the tribunal. The current deadline is 31 October.

The tribunal, which is looking into whether there was Garda collusion in the death of two RUC officers in 1989, had previously suffered delays due to the calling of additional witnesses.

It was delayed again further when a vital witness fell ill.

In a statement released today, Shatter said:

Not least for the sake of the families of the late Chief Superintendent Breen and Superintendent Buchanan, we have been anxious that the Tribunal complete its work as quickly as possible.
But it is also important that the work of the Tribunal is completed fully and it is clear, because of the circumstances which have arisen, as outlined by the Chairman, that it is necessary to extend the deadline for the Tribunal to complete its work.
Accordingly, I will shortly put before the Dáil and Seanad motions to extend the conclusion date for the Tribunal to 31 July, 2013. In line with the approach which I have taken to ensure that the Oireachtas is fully informed by the Tribunal of progress in its work, the motions will also require the Tribunal to submit interim reports by 31 January, 2013 and again by 30 April, 2013.

The tribunal began conducting its enquiries in early 2006 and began its public hearings in June of last year.

Read: Smithwick Tribunal seeks nine-month extension deadline >

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    Mute SerotoninWars
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    Aug 13th 2024, 2:26 PM

    Terrifying but sadly all too predictable as temperatures rise. You’d hope this would wake a few of the deniers up as it’s more local than some of the countries people chauvinistically dismiss. But alas these people would still be posting their copy and paste, Trump n dumpster science support, while the fire or flood is on their doorstep.

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    Mute Niall English
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    Aug 13th 2024, 2:43 PM

    @SerotoninWars: you do realize they’ve had wildfires all over the globe for centuries?

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    Mute Brendan O'Brien
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    Aug 13th 2024, 2:45 PM

    @Niall English: You do realise that they have been far worse in recent years on account of climate change?

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    Mute ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere
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    Aug 13th 2024, 4:19 PM

    @Niall English: You do realise that ever more parched woodlands catch fire ever more easily, which spreads ever more quickly?

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    Mute ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere
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    Aug 13th 2024, 4:28 PM

    @JOHN O CONNELL: You mean when there were only a few millions of people?

    And vast areas of the planet were covered in forests?

    Imagine that!

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    Mute Brendan O'Brien
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    Aug 13th 2024, 4:43 PM

    @JOHN O CONNELL: Those fires were caused by a collision with fragments of a comet. What is your point?

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    Mute john mac
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    Aug 13th 2024, 7:04 PM

    @JOHN O CONNELL: Younger Dryas

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    Mute P. V. Aglue
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    Aug 13th 2024, 11:18 AM

    It must have all grown back, from being burnt the last few years

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    Mute Brendan O'Brien
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    Aug 13th 2024, 2:13 PM

    @P. V. Aglue: You think houses and factories grow back?

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    Mute Padraig O'Brien
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    Aug 13th 2024, 1:12 PM

    What did the Greeks ever do for us?

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    Mute Thesaltyurchin
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    Aug 13th 2024, 2:24 PM

    @Padraig O’Brien: The birthplace of western thinking.

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    Mute David Jordan
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    Aug 13th 2024, 2:41 PM

    @Padraig O’Brien: Plato, Aristotle Euclid’s geometry aid the foundations for European rationality and scientific inquiry, and influenced the development of European science and mathematics. The epics of Homer and the tragedies of Euripides and Sophocles deeply influenced European literature; their Greek humanism, that emphasized individual dignity, profoundly affected the development of European and American literary traditions. The music of Ancient Greece, particularly the theoretical frameworks of harmonics developed by the likes of Pythagoras, laid the foundations of Western music theory. And the political ideas of Ancient Greece, particularly the concept of democracy as practised in Athens, have had a lasting impact on European politics and systems of government.

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    Mute ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere
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    Aug 13th 2024, 4:11 PM

    @David Jordan: I frequently reread an old school text book on ancient Greek history by Bury.
    (Am reading it again at the moment.)

    Fascinating.

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    Mute Fr. Fintan Stack
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    Aug 13th 2024, 4:29 PM

    @David Jordan: “The music of Ancient Greece, particularly the theoretical frameworks of harmonics developed by the likes of Pythagoras, laid the foundations of Western music theory”.
    And then (c)rap came along and that all went out the window.

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    Mute Zmeevo Libe
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    Aug 14th 2024, 1:43 PM

    Here in Bulgaria the fires started in June and keep going. There is several at any given time, and once a fire is put down, another one starts in a different place. There are constant appeals for volunteers to help the fire service, who are exhausted. Turkey sent fire trucks to help, and the Chesch republic sent two planes. What seems to be missing is coordinated EU level approach to this – Southern Europe is burning, and will continue burning every summer. Did someone ask Ursula what the plan is?

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    Mute Padraig O'Brien
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    Aug 14th 2024, 12:32 PM

    @ Thesaltyurchin and David Jordan
    Are ye too young to have seen Monty Python?

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