Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is disappointing that the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality is not present in the Chamber to deal with this matter, which relates to the administration of justice by the Garda Síochána and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. I had hoped to raise directly with her the death by stabbing in Kilkenny city on 15 February 2012 of Kieran Monahan from Durrow, County Laois, and to ask her to make a statement on this case. Mono, as he was known to people who knew him well, was a young man in his early 20s. I wish to extend my sympathies to his father, James, his mother, Mary, his sister, Susan, and his brother, Ryan. The post mortem examination on Kieran showed that he was killed by a single stab wound to the chest.

I would like to raise two issues regarding the decision of the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP, not to prosecute this case, quoting the Criminal Law (Defence and the Dwelling) Act 2011 and on the basis of the evidence supplied by the Garda Síochána. I do not believe an adequate investigation was carried out by the Garda at the time of the murder. I want the Garda to carry out a further examination. Statements from those who were present at the scene were not taken sufficiently quickly. This might have allowed people to meet to agree their statements before those statements were made to the Garda. The DPP has confirmed that Kieran was killed by stabbing on the stairs in the dwelling but his body was found outside in an open area. Clearly, many of the events on the night have not been adequately explained and further examination is needed. That is why I am calling on the Minister to make a statement. The family and the public are entitled to know what happened to Kieran on the night in question. We all understand the boy is dead and cannot come back but his family must get some closure through the establishment of the facts of the events of that night.

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