Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

This is a long-standing case which has spanned 37 years. The person in question, Donal de Róiste, has maintained and sought to prove his innocence to such an extent that the Minister's predecessor, Deputy Smith, acknowledged that there were questions to be answered by requesting the Judge Advocate General to investigate the matter. Does the Minister accept that the High Court ruling in 2005 preventing the publication of the Judge Advocate General's report leaves the way open for him to ask for another such inquiry rather than force Donal de Róiste to go through the courts? The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform continually informs us that the courts are clogged up. If alternative methods and avenues exist by which the truth in this instance can be gleaned, they should be pursued. An independent inquiry would be one of these mechanisms.

The High Court ruling basically concluded that the Judge Advocate General's inquiry denied Mr. de Róiste fair procedures. Some of it stems from the fact that some of the witnesses are those who are able to contribute a defence or, at least, give some of the facts relating to the case, such as the retired Army commandant, Patrick Walsh, and the fact that the High Court judge might have been concerned about the fact that the Judge Advocate General refused to meet this man who would have been able to put some more bones on this story. Will the Minister establish an inquiry, possibly under the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004, which would grant Mr. de Róiste fair procedures for the first time?

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