Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

At an opportunity like this, we have to take stock of where we are with regard to a number of commissions. The House was told the Fennelly commission would report before Christmas, and that has not happened. The commission concerning Ronan McLoughlin was established last July, as the Minister is aware, given that we discussed it at the justice committee and here in the House. It has not got off the ground yet, and concern has been raised about that. We now have the commission following the Guerin report, which seems to be restricted to Garda practices in the Cavan-Monaghan district.

There is concern out there that the families whose cases are subject to the independent review have not been kept informed as to the progression and the likely outcomes. Concern has been expressed to me and other public representatives about why the terms of reference of the commission following Guerin do not provide for any cases which fall out of the independent review and which merit further independent scrutiny. We already have three commissions of inquiry either established or in the process of being established, and there are questions over their functioning and whether they are doing the job they are supposed to be doing. For example, I am being lobbied by people connected to the Cynthia Owen case, the Shane O'Farrell case and the Sarah Bland case. They want independent commissions of investigation into their circumstances. The commission which was established post-Guerin should provide for cases which fall out of the independent review mechanism rather than leaving people in limbo or thinking there will not be any follow-up after the independent review by the barristers. Will the Minister consider amending the terms of reference which were published prior to Christmas to include cases that flow from the independent review mechanism?

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