Mae Sexton (Longford-Roscommon, Progressive Democrats)

I wish to share time with Deputy O'Connor. I am pleased to have a brief few minutes to speak on the decision by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, in consultation with the Minister for Finance and following the recommendation by Mr. Shane Murphy SC, to establish a commission of investigation surrounding the making of a confession by Dean Lyons in the deaths of Ms Mary Callinan and Ms Sylvia Shiels in Grangegorman in 1997.

It is to the credit of such Members of the House as Deputies Gregory, Rabbitte and O'Connor, who have raised this matter consistently and relentlessly in recent years, that this commission has been established. They can be justifiably satisfied with their role in ensuring the families have their legitimate queries conclusively addressed. It is only right and proper that such an investigation take place given both the tragic nature of the deaths of the two vulnerable women in question and the disturbing questions the confession of Dean Lyons raises in the public consciousness.

Dean Lyons's family has every right to feel anger and resentment that a loved one had a charge of murder proffered and withdrawn by the State under the unrelenting glare of media coverage of one of the most shocking and appalling murders in the history of the State. They deserve to have its legitimate questions answered. Those questions include how Dean Lyons, a marginalised, confused and incoherent heroin addict who was sleeping rough, came to be charged in the first instance with the brutal murders of 59 year old Sylvia Shiels and 61 year old Mary Callinan. How did it take a full seven months to release him from prison and drop all charges against him, and only after the admission by another party to the murder? How did part of Dean Lyons's confession appear to have been audio and videotaped while the most crucial part of the interview, where it is alleged he confessed to having murdered these women, was not taped, allegedly at his request? How did the charges subsequently come to be dropped? How is it that Dean Lyons seems to have been in possession of particulars of the murder, such as the layout of the house and the weapons used, that were so detailed they could only have been known by those investigating the case and the murderer himself, which we now know was not Dean Lyons?

There are, no doubt, many other questions which could be added to those I have already raised. I have every confidence, however, that the highly respected Mr. George Bermingham SC will return a comprehensive report which will answer all the queries that have been raised by many people over the past eight years.

The extended Callinan and Shiels families have a right to be angry too because no one has ever been charged or prosecuted for the murder of their loved ones. I hope they will take some consolation from the fact that the Garda Síochána has begun a cold case examination of DNA evidence using forensic techniques that have been developed since the murders. It is to be hoped that the use of these techniques will lead to a successful prosecution of the murderer or murderers of those two defenceless women in Grangegorman on that tragic night in March 1997. These three families have been seriously and permanently traumatised by this dreadful tragedy. All three victims of this distressing situation are now deceased, leaving their families to pick up the pieces as best they can.

The commission will have full statutory powers to investigate and take sworn evidence in this case, but it will also have power to examine the adequacy of Garda protocols and procedures regarding, among other things, the assessment of the fitness of witnesses to be interviewed. That is to be welcomed. If this investigation is to have any moral authority, it must examine how Dean Lyons came to make a confession to a crime he did not commit and could not have committed, as well as examining how we can ensure that there is never a recurrence of such an indefensible set of circumstances.

It is welcome news that, in tandem with the investigation, the Minister has decided that an expert group will look at the adequacy of Garda training, protocols, regulations and procedures as they existed in 1997 and as they exist now on interviewing procedures, the way in which vulnerable suspects are questioned, and the recording and corroboration of admissions by suspects.

Lessons must be learned from this terrible tragedy in an effort to ensure that nothing similar occurs in future. I look forward to viewing the terms of reference which the Minister has stated he will announce shortly together with the name of the person to carry out that examination.

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