Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this important order and I welcome this long overdue inquiry. Credit is due to the Minister for enabling it to be set up on his watch. We are all aware of miscarriages of justice. There was one in my area whereby five brave men spent 94 days in jail for trying to live safely in their own homes.

There are good and bad gardaí, as in every walk of life there are those who are a discredit to their profession or trade. There are many good gardaí and most gardaí do an excellent job despite lack of resources. We are aware, however, of the continuing saga of the McBrearty family in Donegal.

There needs to be balance in finding the rotten apples in the barrel which unfortunately taint the many others who do a good job for years. This applies in all professions, whether medical, police or clerical. Last night I heard of an old frail priest, who had spent his life ministering to immigrant populations in England, being accosted by people in a train who accused him of the deeds committed by the priests examined in the Ferns Inquiry. Systems are needed to root out the rotten apples.

I was approached by a woman from Donegal, Susan Gray, in regard to the death of her husband, a taxi driver, Stephen Gray. On St. Stephen's night last year he was mowed down by a man who had been seen in two public houses and a disco yet had not been breathlysed. One has to ask why not.

The Minister said today that the DPP does not have to disclose why he decides not to prosecute. The man involved in the death of Stephen Gray was not prosecuted. There is something missing. I wrote to the DPP about this case, asking why this man was not even charged with dangerous driving. Someone had warned Stephen Gray there was a car coming.

Unfortunately, this driver got away with only a charge of not having a supervised driver with him when displaying L-plates. No one can question what occurred. The lady in question approached me and I, in turn, wrote to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions informed me it could not disclose any facts to me but would write to the lady in question. When she received the letter from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, she was informed no information would be disclosed to her as it was the director's prerogative to do so.

It is the same question in the Dean Lyons case where the same element is missing. What happened when the Garda file was sent to the DPP? In the Dean Lyons case, his confession contained information that only the murderer or investigating officers would have known. There is something very wrong that this could be in the confession of Dean Lyons when he was innocent. The blame certainly lies with the Garda. This is included in the terms of reference of the order.

In the Minister's speech, he referred to statutes in place ready to enact a Garda ombudsman commission, which must be welcomed. However, in the case of Susan Gray, and her husband Stephen Gray, she took a private prosecution. Unfortunately, a summons was issued against her. This woman was not aware that this case was going on and it was not even on the court list. The case was struck out against the man involved. This poor lady has received a District Court conviction and order against her. She was ordered to:

pay to the Defendant . . . witness expenses in the sum of €600.00 with costs in the sum of €250.00 to include VAT and outlay making in all the total sum of €850.00 to be paid within 90 days and in default of payment, the Complainant Susan Gray of . . . Culdaff, Co. Donegal [to] be imprisoned in Mountjoy Prison, Dublin for the period of 10 days.

This case was not even on the court list.

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