It is “incomprehensible” that the Irish Government has not yet handed over 30 documents of material to the inquest into the murder of GAA official Sean Brown, a coroner has said.
Amid ongoing concern from Mr Brown’s family about the timetabling of proceedings, Justice Patrick Kinney has also ordered police to provide him with daily updates on the preparation of sensitive material ahead of the planned resumption of the inquest in January.
Mr Brown, 61, was abducted and killed by loyalists as he locked the gates at Bellaghy Wolfe Tones Club in Co Derry in May 1997.
No-one has been convicted of his murder.
His inquest began in March and is scheduled to resume next year.
However, the proceedings are taking place against the backdrop of the Government’s new legacy Act, which states that any legacy inquests which have not reached the point of verdict by May 1st 2024 will be discontinued.
Members of Mr Brown’s family, including his widow Bridie, attended the latest review hearing at Laganside Courthouse in Belfast on Monday.
Their lawyer said they were growing “increasingly anxious” that the inquest would not be completed ahead of the cut-off point next May.
Opening the hearing, counsel for the coroner Joseph Aiken KC said there was outstanding material in the case from the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs, which he said had been involved in oversight of the second police investigation into Mr Brown’s death.
He told the court: “Over the course of three years of trying to get it, they have indicated they do have some 30 documents.
“Despite best efforts, we simply cannot get this material out of the Department of Foreign Affairs’ hands.
“For whatever reason, and we don’t know what it is, this material simply hasn’t been forthcoming.”
Mr Justice Kinney said it was a “rather incomprehensible position” from the department.
He added: “I cannot understand.
“It seems inequitable for me to be criticising the PSNI for the apparent delays and difficulties in obtaining documents, and I find that a state body, the Department of Foreign Affairs, who have been involved in this matter for some considerable time, we simply cannot get information or documentation from them.
“I am very concerned about that and it seems to be at this stage that I would direct there is a formal response from the department before the next review setting out what the difficulties are in providing whatever documentation they would define as potentially relevant.”
A previous review hearing in the case earlier this month was told that as part of its review of sensitive material in the case, the PSNI had recently uncovered 18 folders of documents.
PSNI barrister Mark Robinson KC told the court on Monday the process was ongoing to prepare that material for a public immunity interest (PII) application.
He said police are facing “multiple demands for multiple inquests” and added he could not provide a date for the completion of the process.
Mr Justice Kinney responded: “I don’t accept and, indeed it is not acceptable that I am told I can’t have a timeframe for completion of the exercise at this stage, bearing in mind the context in which we are operating.
“This is not an open-ended process, we do know we have to work within a very tight timeframe.”
He added: “I don’t really need to know in great detail what needs to be done, I need to know when it’s going to be done.
“Since the PSNI are unable to assist me in the way that I had hoped I want effectively a daily update to my office of what has been achieved, what files have been looked at, what volume of papers have been considered and what has been happening to those papers.
“I do not accept a general assertion or submission that this is something which is so huge that it cannot be achieved.”
Mr Robinson said police were working relentlessly to service the inquest.
Mr Justice Kinney said: “If we weren’t working to the timescales that we are forced to work to more time could be afforded to this exercise, but we don’t have that luxury so I am asking for a daily update.
“I don’t expect these to be a one-line email coming to my team, I expect it to be reasonably detailed.”
Barrister for the next of kin Des Fahy told the court: “The Brown family have attended this morning, as they have at every review.
“My clear instructions are that they are increasingly anxious that despite your best efforts and despite the best efforts of your counsel that the timetable for the resumption of this inquest and for the completion of this inquest is not going to be met because of inactivity on the part of the state bodies.
“The time has come for actions not excuses.”
Mr Fahy also said the family would be making representations that potential suspects to the murder would be called as witnesses during the inquest.
The coroner said he would hold another review hearing on October 26.
