Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As I have pointed out to the Minister before, a significant number of people contacted me following her intervention in the Maíria Cahill case. Some of these families are alleging cover-ups of investigations into the deaths of loved ones. They could not get a meeting with the Minister's predecessor and cannot secure one with her.

The Minister referred to due process. The case she mentioned has been investigated by the PSNI in the North, was brought to court and is currently subject to independent review by the Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland and by way of a review of the Director of Public Prosecution's decision.

The Minister talks about public opinion. There is a significant public view that the Minister for Justice and Equality and her colleague, the Taoiseach, for reasons to do with political opportunism, embraced one particular case and ignored many families. Has the Minister or her predecessor, Deputy Alan Shatter, ever received correspondence from families alleging that their loved ones have been murdered or killed and that there was a cover-up or incompetence? If the Minister has received such correspondence, has she refused to meet the families in question?

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