Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The clock applies to all of us. The Taoiseach was right to acknowledge that there was something to be investigated given the outcome of the trial of the Jobstown defendants. I welcome that he did so. This is all in the public domain. The evidence was aired.

There was a flat contradiction between objective video evidence and statements made by three very senior gardaí. There were also other highly significant contradictions in evidence. When three senior gardaí make the same false statement, word for word, that is a crime if it turns out to be collusion. I hope Deputy Micheál Martin acknowledges, as the Taoiseach appears to have done, the seriousness of this matter, coming as it does on the back of the scandals about whistleblowers, 1 million false breath tests and 15,000 false convictions. I could go through a list but this is another instance of the same thing that needs to be investigated. In that context, I put it to the Taoiseach that the investigation cannot be conducted by the Garda. These are serious matters and the investigation must be done by people who will consider the evidence objectively.

Has the Taoiseach discussed the correspondence sent by the solicitor representing Cynthia Owen to the Minister for Justice and Equality? He will be aware of the terrible case involving an 11 year old girl who was raped and gave birth to a child that was subsequently murdered and who has made allegations against very senior gardaí. Ms Owen's solicitor has stated that the barrister from the independent review mechanism, the panel of barristers examining certain cases, who carried out the review of her case had previously represented one of the accused in the case. This gives rise to a serious conflict of interest. I ask the Taoiseach to examine this serious issue. Cynthia Owen is being denied the justice and investigation she is seeking in a context of a major conflict of interest on the part of the person who made the decision in her case.

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