Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy will recall that counsel for the independent review mechanism examined 320 cases of allegations of wrongdoing or failure in An Garda Síochána. There were many different recommendations. The recommendation of counsel in five of those cases was that I should establish inquiries to inquire into certain aspects of the handling of the cases, some of which are very well known.

On Monday 15 May 2017, I established, by order, under section 42 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the five statutory inquiries. I can go into further detail on that if required.

On 16 February 2017, I appointed a tribunal of inquiry. Mr. Justice Peter Charleton is getting on with that work and the first interim report was published on the website of the Charleton inquiry recently.

The Deputy will be familiar with the MacLochlainn commission of investigation, which was established in August 2014. It was an investigation into the fatal shooting of Mr. Ronan MacLochlainn by members of the Garda Síochána in the course of an attempted armed robbery in Wicklow in May 1998. It has not yet reported because there is an application in the High Court relating to it.

The O'Higgins commission of investigation was established in February 2015 to investigate and report on certain matters relative to the Cavan-Monaghan division of the Garda Síochána. I can go into detail on that if required.

The Fennelly report was also carried out, as was an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the taking into care of the children of two Roma families that led to the establishment of a special inquiry under section 42 of the Garda Síochána Act by the then Ombudsman for Children, Ms Emily Logan. That report was published in July 2014. A number of recommendations came out of that report. It found that there was some justification for the decision in one case, given the information initially provided by the Coombe hospital, but it was critical of other aspects of the decision.

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