Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Shane O'Farrell's death was a tragedy and his loss has had a catastrophic impact on his family. Shane was just 23 years of age when he was killed while cycling in County Monaghan in 2011. He was taken from his family at a time when he held so much promise for the life he might have lived. I again offer my condolences and profound sympathy to Mrs. O'Farrell, Shane's sisters and their extended family and friends. I cannot imagine the scale of their grief and know that no words of mine can bring him back to his family.

In the course of the last seven years I have met members of Shane O'Farrell's family and I am very familiar with their tireless quest to understand the circumstances which led to his death. I state categorically that there are a number of matters surrounding the circumstances of his death which are of concern. It is a fact that the person who was responsible for the fatal accident had multiple previous convictions, including for theft, drugs and road traffic offences, for some of which he had received suspended sentences. It is also the case that at the time of the accident he was on bail in respect of a number of charges. Shane's mother, Lucia O'Farrell, has asked for a public inquiry.

In the years since Shane O'Farrell's death my predecessors have attempted to address the concerns of his family. They have availed of the mechanisms at their disposal to determine what actions might be taken. In 2014 my predecessor, Alan Shatter, referred the matter to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC. Members of the House will be aware that GSOC has statutory responsibility to deal with complaints concerning the conduct of members of An Garda Síochána. At the time of the then Minister's referral, GSOC was already investigating the case on foot of a complaint from the O'Farrell family and it merged the two into one investigation.

The following month, May 2014, the then Minister referred the case to the independent review mechanism, IRM. The IRM was established independently to review certain allegations of Garda misconduct or inadequacies in the investigation of certain allegations with a view to determining to what extent and in what manner further action might be required in each case. For clarity, I note that the independent review mechanism was not established to act as a commission of inquiry or investigation or designed to make findings. Its purpose was to examine allegations to see whether further action was needed by the then Minister and what that action would be. Under the IRM, the allegations made by the O'Farrell family concerning the circumstances of the death of Shane and subsequent events were examined.

Having considered this case, the recommendation made by the IRM was that no further ministerial action should be taken in this case. Counsel for the IRM pointed out that the appropriate forum for raising matters related to alleged Garda failings was GSOC which, as Members will be aware, was already investigating certain matters arising from the tragic death of Shane O'Farrell.

In December 2015, my immediate predecessor, the former Tánaiste, Deputy Fitzgerald, issued a letter to Mrs. O'Farrell setting out the outcome and recommendation from the IRM review and the reasons for these. Before leaving the IRM, it is important that I make one further point as I know that the matter of bias or conflict of interest has been raised in relation to this particular case. One of the senior counsel on the IRM panel had represented the driver of the car which caused the death of Shane O'Farrell at his trial. Repeated assurances have been given that such conflicts of interest were catered for and I am advised categorically that this senior counsel had no involvement in the review of Mrs. O'Farrell's complaint.

The House will be aware that when it comes to a panel of expert lawyers, it is always possible that a conflict of interest may arise and it is, therefore, essential that appropriate procedures are in place. I am assured that the IRM panel took appropriate steps to ensure that nothing arose which might have in any manner detracted from the integrity of the mechanism. Arrangements were put in place to ensure that if there was any conflict, or potential conflict, the conflicted counsel not only would not be involved in the particular complaint, but also would not be aware of which counsel was undertaking the review.

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