Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

There are several important issues here. Nobody would dispute the need for the DPP to be independent but I reject the implication that there is a contradiction between independence and accountability. One can have both. In a society which aspires to be democratic and open it is necessary to have both. The Minister has acknowledged that he will finally bring in the EU legislation next year which would give victims the right to know why the DPP decided not to prosecute.

That should have been done well before now. I am glad the Minister is looking at it now, but to my mind that is a basic human right. For example, the GSOC referred a number of cases to the Director of Public Prosecutions in respect of the Corrib incidents, but not one of them was prosecuted and nobody got information about it. I attempted to table a question last month about the DPP and I was told it had nothing to do with the Minister and therefore nothing to do with the House.

I would like to give one last example from the public domain of how we address this balance between independence and accountability. Mr. Justice Barry White, as part of a libel action in the case of Mr. Ian Bailey, made a writ - an extensive discovery order - that the DPP should release files in its possession on Ian Bailey, as well as copies of all statements in the possession of the DPP which cast a doubt on his involvement in the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier and documents suggesting that he was of good character. The DPP's office furnished 700 statements and then furnished a list of other documents which they claimed they could not release because of confidentiality. More importantly, they did not provide information on a crucial previous DPP critique of that case, which exonerated his character. That decision and failure by the DPP to adhere to a court order has been a serious problem for this man and his liberty. What is the Minister, who has a role in justice and accountability, going to do about that?

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