THE FAMILY of a murdered Irish prison officer have claimed one section of An Garda Síochána withheld information from investigating officers.
Brian Stack, the former Chief Officer at Portlaoise Prison was shot in Dublin in March 1983, and died 18 months later.
Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast, Mr Stack's son Austin Stack claims he was told 'significant' information has been kept on file in Garda headquarters since 1990 but is being withheld by one section of An Garda Síochána as 'they have a duty of care to protect an informant.'
According to Mr Stack, in March 2015 the existence of the 'significant information' was finally acknowledged by An Garda Síochána in March last year, despite previous denials.
However, he believes the information has still not been passed on to gardaí investigating his father's death.
Mr Stack said: "My family have been quite clear with the gardaí in relation to this that they also have a duty of care to the Stack family. My father was a senior civil servant, and the State have a duty of care to him.
"From what I can understand, the investigation team has been utterly frustrated in their attempts to retrieve this information from the other section of An Garda Síochana.
"We have worked with gardaí in that 12 month period [since March 2017] to try and give them a chance.
"It's quite difficult for us to come to the media on this - but we have tried to give the gardaí the chance to get this information, and to work with the information that they have."
Mr Stack's son Austin is calling on the Taoiseach to demand answers from the Garda Commissioner, and to ensure the investigation team has full access to all relevant files.
In response to the claims, a garda spokesperson said: "In order to protect investigations, An Garda Síochána does not comment on the detail of on-going investigations.
"An Garda Síochána does not comment on remarks by third-parties.
"The investigators leading the investigation relating to the death of Mr Brian Stack are satisfied that they have been provided with all the relevant information they require from within An Garda Síochána.
"The investigation team is receiving the co-operation of all relevant sections within An Garda Síochána in order to pursue all possible lines of enquiry.
"An Garda Síochána maintains regular contact with the Stack family for the purpose of keeping them informed of any relevant developments in this investigation.
"An Garda Síochána is determined to bring the investigation into the death of Mr. Brian Stack to a successful conclusion."
