Dundon seeks disclosure of recordings of calls between garda stations and witnesses
Two Limerick men due to stand trial on a charge of murdering businessman Roy Collins five years ago are seeking recordings of communications between garda stations and prisons, the Special Criminal Court has heard.
Wayne Dundon (aged 35), of Lenihan Avenue, Prospect, and Nathan Killeen (aged 23), of Hyde Road, Prospect, are charged with the murder of Mr Collins (aged 35) at Coin Castle Amusements, Roxboro Road Shopping Centre, Limerick on April 9, 2009.
They are due to stand trial at the non-jury court on April 29 before presiding judge Ms Justice Iseult O’Malley.
Counsel for Mr Killeen, Mr Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC, this morning told the court that there were outstanding issues on disclosure, and among these was a defence request for disclosure of all communications between garda stations and amongst prosecution witnesses, some of whom were in prison at the time.
Counsel for the State, Mr Michael O’Higgins SC, said it was clear that the process of disclosure was becoming increasingly complicated and he proposed that the matter be put back until next week.
Mr Justice Paul Butler, presiding at today’s hearing, said the court could fix next Wednesday for the court constituted to try the case to sit and deal with the matter.
Mr Ó Lideadha said he thought the prosecution were today to give some outline as to the potential sources of relevant information, in particular any issue of recording at Henry Street and Roxboro Road garda stations in Limerick, and the prisons involved which appeared to have recording systems in place.
Counsel said the defence wanted to know about communication between gardaí and the prosecution witnesses who were in prison.
Mr O’Higgins told the court that as far as the prison recordings were concerned it had to be established whether there was a call, roughly when it was made and how long ago it was archived.
He said the prosecution did know the archive was in Longford but had not established a procedure for organising access to it and the process was “not something that can immediately be done”.
Mr Ó Lideadha asked the court to bear in mind that communications between persons in prison and the gardaí may well have been recorded and may contain “very significant information” relevant to the credibility and reliability of witnesses, and it was not the defence’s fault that “they record so much they are going to have trouble finding the relevant bits”.
Mr Justice Butler said it was preferable for the court constituted to try the case to deal with the issue.
He adjourned the matter until Wednesday next.
