Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)

I welcome the establishment of the inquiry into this tragic case involving a tragic individual. Tragedy has surrounded the entire case. The case of Dean Lyons is one illustration of the consequences of having a police force that is a law unto itself and has suffered from a history of corruption and impunity. It is essential for the stability of the Garda Síochána and for the survival of public confidence in it that this Government holds to account all involved in the apparent set up of Dean Lyons.

Sadly, Mr. Lyons will not see the outcome of any investigation into wrongdoing against him perpetrated by this State. The Minister must ensure that any commission of investigation established to examine the case can ask the right questions. The briefing note suggests that the commission of investigation may not ask the crucial questions. This was true too of the inquiry into Brian Rossiter's death. The solicitor representing the Rossiter family has complained that the inquiry will not answer the question of whether Brian Rossiter was killed, and if so, by whom.

Likewise, the commission of investigation into the Dean Lyons case may not ask the question whether he was set up and if so by whom. Rather than investigate which garda or gardaí made up the confession and how they came to do this, the Minister indicated that the commission will focus on the circumstances arising from the making of a confession and the inadequacy of the Garda assessment of the reliability of Mr. Lyons's confession. I appreciate that the exact terms of reference of the commission of investigation will not be confirmed until the order establishing it has been passed. However, in light of the Minister's track record of establishing inquiries it is crucial to insist that the inquiry into the Dean Lyons case be comprehensive, held in public and have the power to ask the questions that matter.

If the expert group is to be of any use its terms of reference must also be broad enough to investigate acts of Garda corruption. The Minister also indicated that he intends to publish the reports of the commission and expert group once produced. I call on him to offer a guarantee in his closing remarks that these reports will be published.

I take this opportunity to demand a full public inquiry into the death of young John Maloney who died within minutes of leaving Garda custody in Rathfarnham in 2003 and Terence Wheelock who, like Brian Rossiter fell into a coma while in Garda custody last June.

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