Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In this case, Mr. Justice Fennelly has written to me. The Deputy saw his report and his letter. He indicated that he did not intend to deal with this until such time as the Bailey case was finished. That is now concluded, and a spokesperson has said it is moving on.

In his letter on 17 February last, Mr. Justice Fennelly said:

The Commission is at an advanced stage in its preparation of a draft interim report on these matters. In accordance with Section 34 of the Act, before the report is submitted to you as specified Minister, copies of the draft or relevant extracts thereof must be submitted to any person who is identified in or identifiable from it, in order that he or she may have the opportunity to submit statements to the Commission or applications to Court, if it is alleged that the Commission has not observed fair procedures.

The Commission has at all times been mindful of the High Court proceedings currently underway involving Mr. Ian Bailey and Ms Catherine Jules Thomas who are suing An Garda Síochána, the Minister for Justice and Equality and others for false imprisonment, harassment and related claims arising out of the investigation of the murder in 1996 of Madame Sophie Toscan du Plantier. Although the Bailey and Thomas cases are not expressly mentioned in sub-paragraphs (n) and (o) of the Commission's terms of reference, they are undoubtedly related to some extent with the events that culminated in the retirement of the Commissioner. Mention of matters relating to the Bailey and Thomas cases is therefore unavoidable in the draft report concerning sub-paragraphs (n) and (o).

The Commission is of the view that it would not be appropriate to submit any parts of the draft interim report to named persons whilst the High Court proceedings are at hearing. That hearing has taken much longer than had been originally estimated. The Commission is not in a position to say how much longer it [the Bailey case] will take. Accordingly, the Commission wishes to inform you as the specified Minister that the Interim Report on Terms of Reference 1(n) and (o) will not be disseminated to affected parties until after the Bailey proceedings currently at hearing have been disposed of by the High Court. [As the Deputy is aware, that is now concluded.]

The timeline anticipated by the Commission in its first Interim Report must be adjusted accordingly.

The broader question of whether it will ultimately prove feasible to report on 1(n) and (o) in isolation from the other Terms of Reference remains under consideration as work on the draft Interim Report progresses.

The Commission will keep you informed of any decisions made in this regard.

The letter is signed by the sole member of the commission, Mr. Justice Nial Fennelly. That letter of 17 February sets out the reasons, the background and the progress being made, as well as the fact that he will inform me in due course of progress or decisions made.

See this speech in context