Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

I am glad to hear that because it means we are on the same wavelength. It struck me today that there was an infelicity in the way in which the motion was drafted, and that is the reason for the delay in circulating the script.

The draft order authorises me as the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to set the commission's terms of reference. If such provision were not made, that task would, in accordance with section 4(2) of the Act, fall on the Government. The Government has decided that I should be designated in this regard and in doing so has approved a draft of the terms of reference which I propose to set on the following lines:

To ask the Commission to examine and report on:

the circumstances surrounding the making of a confession by Dean Lyons, deceased, about the deaths of Ms Mary Callinan and Ms Sylvia Shiels in March 1997 in Grangegorman, Dublin 7;

the adequacy of the Garda assessment of the reliability of Mr. Lyons's confession, both before and after he was charged with murder, and

the adequacy of information provided by the Garda Síochána on the morning of 27 July 1997 to the Director of Public Prosecutions and in particular whether any additional information should have been provided at that time.

These terms of reference concentrate on the three issues which need to be resolved. In approving those terms of reference the Government was conscious of the obligation imposed by section 5 of the Act on those framing the terms of reference, namely, that the terms of reference set out as clearly and accurately as possible the events, activities, circumstances, systems, practices or procedures to be investigated, together with the relevant dates, locations and individuals involved.

In addition, I am obliged as soon as possible after the terms of reference are set formally to prepare an accompanying statement containing an estimate of the costs of the commission and the length of time it will take. This will be published as soon as possible after the terms of reference are set, in Iris Oifigiúil and such other publications as I, as Minister, consider appropriate. I do not wish to be too definitive at this stage about the length of time the commission will take although I will have to do so when the terms of reference are set formally. I want the opportunity to discuss the matter with the commission first.

In that regard I am mindful that the obligation on the commission under section 32(4) of the Act is to "endeavour" to submit its report within the specified time period. Sections 34, 35 and 36 of the Act provide for an opportunity to persons identified in or identifiable from a draft report to submit comments thereon to the commission on the grounds that there has been a failure to observe fair procedures. A commission is required to give due consideration to requests for alterations and it may either amend the report, apply to the High Court for directions or submit the report to the relevant Minister without alteration.

In the alternative, a person identified in or identifiable from a draft report may bring the matter before the High Court seeking an order from the court directing that the draft be amended before submission to the relevant Minister. The court may either order the commission to submit the report without alteration or with such alterations as it may direct, or give a direction to the commission to provide an opportunity to the person to give evidence or make submissions to the commission before the report is finalised.

Either way, no one will be allowed to delay publication indefinitely as there will be time limits for making submissions to the commission or applications to the court. Giving affected persons an opportunity to comment on and to have their views considered will meet the requirements of natural justice and the commitment to fair procedures will reduce the likelihood of court challenges to the commission's work and support the objective of an efficient and effective investigation. I envisage that the legal fees, salaries and other administrative costs for the commission will come to approximately €510,000 for its first four months of operation. This does not include any third party costs that may be awarded by the commission itself.

The draft order also authorises me to appoint the member or members of the commission. I place high importance on the independence and required expertise of a member of the commission. The powers and duties vested in a commission include the duty to caution witnesses, compel witnesses to answer questions, establish rules and procedures relating to evidence and submissions, adjudicate on matters of privilege and conduct the investigation. All have the potential to intrude into well established legal rights. For this reason I intend to appoint an eminent senior counsel with considerable experience of the criminal law as the sole member of the commission. I am pleased that Mr. George Bermingham SC, who is a former Member of this House, has indicated that he is willing to accept the appointment. I have discussed the proposed terms of reference with him and he is happy to accept the position on that basis.

The draft order also specifies the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform as the Minister responsible for overseeing the administrative matters relating to the establishment of the commission, receiving its reports and performing any other functions accorded to the Minister by the Act. One such function is the obligation to prepare general guidelines. Once the commission has been formally established I am required, in consultation with the Minister for Finance and the commission itself, to prepare general guidelines concerning the payment by my Department of legal costs necessarily incurred by witnesses in connection with the investigation.

The commission in turn is obliged to ensure that any direction it makes concerning the payment of legal costs by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform comes within these guidelines. The guidelines will also make provision for payment to witnesses of non-legal costs. Each witness will be furnished with a copy of the guidelines in advance of his or her giving evidence. This ensures that witnesses who wish to do so can arrange legal representation with full knowledge of the regime under which they may seek to have those costs recouped.

The commission is charged with the onerous task of establishing facts in a situation which is laden with complexity. The situation is compounded by the fact that Dean Lyons is now sadly deceased and no longer available as a witness. As I indicated earlier, he was charged with one of the murders in July 1997, three months after the women met their deaths. In August 1997, another person, who had been arrested and detained during the investigation of another double murder, made a confession in relation to the Grangegorman murders.

As a result of the admissions made by the second person, admissions which have since been withdrawn, the Garda Commissioner appointed an assistant commissioner to review all available evidence relating to these murders. That second Garda investigation concluded that Mr. Lyons did not commit the murders in question. Following completion of this review, a report was submitted by the assistant commissioner to the Director of Public Prosecutions. In April 1998, after consideration of the report, the Director of Public Prosecutions decided that criminal proceedings against Mr. Lyons be discontinued. In July 1999, Dean Lyons presented a signed and witnessed statement denying any involvement in the Grangegorman murders. On 12 September 2000, Dean Lyons died in a friend's flat in the United Kingdom.

When the DPP decides not to prosecute in a particular case, the reasons for the decision are given to the State solicitor and the investigating gardaí. The director has stated that it is his policy not to disclose this information otherwise. The function of the prosecution of alleged offences is the responsibility of the Director of Public Prosecutions who is independent in the exercise of his functions. It would not, therefore, be appropriate to bring any aspect of his determinative process within the ambit of the commission's terms of reference.

However, the adequacy of the information provided by gardaí to the DPP prior to his decision that Dean Lyons should be charged with murder is contained within the terms of reference. It is important that I state that the criminal investigation into these two murders remains open and, in particular, a forensic cold case review is being conducted on exhibits and samples taken from the scene.

On 24 February 2005, the Garda Síochána published a notice in a number of newspapers in which it stated that it is satisfied that Dean Lyons had no participation in the Grangegorman murders. The notice also stated that the Garda appreciated the embarrassment suffered by his family as a result of criminal charges preferred against him and subsequently withdrawn. The notice expressed regret and contained an apology to the family of Mr. Lyons for any embarrassment caused.

On 6 April 2005, the Commissioner furnished an up-to-date report, which had been prepared at my request, to the Secretary General of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. In response to public concern about these matters and in light of the Commissioner's report of 6 April I appointed Mr. Shane Murphy SC on 27 June 2005 to complete an independent review of Garda papers and action taken regarding these matters.

For the purpose of that investigation he reviewed documents presented to him by the original murder investigation team, including statements, copy statements, job books reports, exhibits and appendices. He also reviewed documentation relating to subsequent reviews of the original criminal investigation file which were made by an assistant commissioner and his team. He also visited the Bridewell Garda station in Dublin for the purpose of examining the interview rooms and the medical room and the overall layout of those areas of the station where the interviews of Dean Lyons took place.

I am not in a position to publish the report because it was not written with a view to publication. It contains some matters which may cause distress and others which would be regarded as confidential and not suitable for publication. However, Mr. Murphy acknowledges that he received full co-operation from my Department and the Garda Síochána. While Mr. Murphy's report makes a significant contribution to progressing the matter, he did not have the power to examine persons under oath and to determine matters of fact. He recommended that the best method to resolve these issues was to establish a full commission of investigation.

There is one aspect of Mr. Murphy's recommendation which I have not included in the commission's terms of reference. Mr. Murphy recommended that the adequacy of Garda protocols and procedures regarding the assessment of the fitness of witnesses to be interviewed should be examined and should form part of the commission's terms of reference. However, I intend to pursue an alternative course in respect of that aspect. With Government approval I have decided to establish an expert group to examine these more general matters. I intend to publish the report of that group.

The reason for the difference in approach on this aspect is as follows. It has come to be recognised that having clear and well defined terms of reference which are tightly drawn is often the key to a successful investigation. Second, I am anxious to ensure that this commission of investigation will complete its work as quickly as possible. Hence, I want it to concentrate on those aspects which are peculiar to the Dean Lyons case itself and in respect of which the inquisitorial powers of the commission will, I hope, be of particular value. A commission of investigation is vested with considerable inquisitorial powers and the power to summon witnesses and examine them under oath or by means of interrogatories to direct witnesses to produce documents etc. These considerable powers will be best utilised in investigating the specific circumstances of the Dean Lyons case, and my intention is that this will facilitate a more focused approach to the commission.

The more general aspects are equally as capable of being addressed by the expert group, which will not be forced to have recourse to investigative powers when conducting its work. The success of the group will depend not so much on an ability to compel evidence but on a membership capable of bringing a multi-disciplinary approach to the issue. For example, I intend to approach a person with professional expertise in the area of human behaviour to join the group, who would be a psychiatrist or a psychologist, accompanied perhaps by a person with expertise in the area of criminal investigations, as well as a person with expertise in the area of criminal law. It is not my intention to appoint a serving member of the Garda Síochána or a serving official in my Department, although my Department may well provide secretarial expertise.

The work of objectively analysing the practices and policies of police bodies is ongoing daily without the need to establish formal inquiries that operate in a quasi-judicial fashion. Consequently these more general aspects will be assigned to an expert group to allow the commission to concentrate on the core issues of the Dean Lyons case.

Time does not allow me to finish my speech in its entirety, although there are some points of general application relating to the scope of the Act which I hope Members will take time to read. I urge Deputies to support the Government's proposal for the establishment of a commission of investigation in this case by supporting the motion before the House.

See this speech in context