Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Almost seven years have passed since Shane O'Farrell was killed in an horrific hit and run accident in Carrickmacross, County Monaghan. Shane was a handsome, young, intelligent man, an only son, with four loving sisters and his whole life to live. I cannot begin to imagine what Lucia and the whole family have been through and continue to go through having lost a child. Having lost him in such circumstances is unthinkable. They must be commended for the courageous and dignified manner in which they are pursuing justice for him. They have been unrelenting in their quest for justice and in so doing are doing their utmost to honour his life.

The accused should not have been at liberty at the time to kill Shane, flee the scene, abandon his car and hide it. If the justice system had been operating effectively, he would not have been driving on that day in August 2011 as he would have been in jail. He had been released on bail having committed numerous offences and breached all of the bail bonds, yet he had not been brought back before the courts for those breaches.

Three weeks before Shane's death the accused was convicted in Newry of theft. This should have led to his imprisonment in the Republic for breach of bail conditions. The car in which he was travelling had been pulled over by gardaí less than one hour before Shane was killed. The vehicle was being driven by an uninsured driver and it had no NCT certificate. The accused was well known to An Garda Síochána, Interpol and the PSNI. He had an extensive criminal record, with more than 40 previous convictions for a variety of offences.

The case reveals the shocking dysfunction at all levels of the criminal justice system. The O'Farrells were failed by the State on many levels. The beacon of hope for the family was GSOC's report. They have waited six long years for the report. They went over and above what could have been expected of anyone involved in this process, providing court orders from the State and other jurisdictions. They complied fully and engaged in the process. The fact that they had to wait six years for the investigation and report to be completed is a source of controversy in itself. It must be even more frustrating that when the report finally came to light, it did not provide the answers to which the O'Farrell family were entitled. Seven years after Shane's death it is clear that the only way the O'Farrells will get the answers they deserve and the only way we, as a nation, can learn lessons to ensure justice will be delivered and that the dysfunction with the criminal justice system will be rectified is through the establishment of an inquiry. It is true that nothing will bring Shane back, but how can his family possibly be expected to get closure without answers to their questions? How can we, as parliamentarians, stand by and let an injustice stand unchallenged, with no one being made accountable?

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