Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)

At the outset, I compliment the McBrearty family for their strength and determination, despite all the odds, to pursue their struggle for justice. Shamefully, the same cannot be said about the Minister or the Government in their attempts to prevent the McBreartys from achieving justice, so much so that they were even denied the basic right of the representation of their choice.

What is the sanction against those who have perpetrated this injustice against the McBrearty family? We have seen recently senior Garda officers being transferred from the Donegal area. It reminds me of priests who abuse young children and the compliant bishop who, in the knowledge of what they had done, transferred them from the diocese where the brutal attacks took place. In this instance the Minister is the compliant bishop transferring these people for what they have done.

For many years I have been trying to raise another injustice, that perpetrated against James Sheehan on 17 August 1989 when he was arrested and taken to Tralee Garda barracks. A gun was discovered four hours later in his car. There was no gun in James Sheehan's car when he was arrested. There was an open pocket book cover, from where the gun was taken by Detective Kevin Dillon and removed from the car in James Sheehan's presence without any attempt to protect the forensics or fingerprints on the weapon. It was removed by the naked hand of a detective. I say categorically that gun was planted in James Sheehan's car. It was not in his car when he was arrested so it must have been planted there by the gardaí.

I have been trying to raise this issue since 2002 in this House but the Minister has refused to meet Deputy Ó Snodaigh, Deputy Ó Caoláin or me on this matter. He is preventing justice for James Sheehan and supporting an injustice against him and his family. I challenge the Minister to open an investigation into this issue, to initiate an independent inquiry and to explore if there was a link between the gun that was found in James Sheehan's car and what subsequently happened in Donegal. Many people believe there is. This must be investigated.

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