Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is now almost seven years since Shane O'Farrell was killed at the side of the road in County Monaghan. It is fair to say there was a failure by many of the agencies of the law and it is not unfair to say that the justice system as a whole in the State categorically failed the family of Shane O'Farrell.

The man responsible should not have been at liberty. He was the subject of 40 convictions. This report is a farce. It backs away from the points of failure at every opportunity. That it took six years to complete its 28 pages is extraordinary. The issue publication date was 29 March 2017. It has been awaiting further action or publication for over a year. If there are further actions or investigations to be undertaken by GSOC, where are they? What has begun in that regard?

It is possible that the Minister may not have read the report. When he does read it in its entirety and in detail, he should be asking serious questions of GSOC. This is a grossly deficient report in several respects. It echoes the version of events given by An Garda Síochána practically uncritically. There is no desire, effort or initiative to go beyond the version of events given by An Garda Síochána. It is not an investigation. It is a summary of the version of events that has been given. There are numerous examples of that, the fact that on two occasions the person who killed Shane O'Farrell, Mr. Gradzuiska, was arrested in the North and the report simply accepts that these were not recorded on the PULSE system as it occurred outside the jurisdiction. There is, however, documentary evidence to say that the PSNI contacted the Garda Síochána. It also uncritically accepts the fact that, even though the car was stopped a few hours before Shane was killed, because it was simply a drugs search, there was no need to check for insurance or anything like that. It accepts that as a matter of course. It does not seek to go any further. I am very concerned about GSOC if this is the standard of work that comes out of it after six years. The Minister can call this report many things but I do not think he can consider it an investigation.

A public inquiry is required, and not just because of the deficiencies of this report. It should not have been before GSOC anyway because the failures in this case go far beyond An Garda Síochána. They extend to the Courts Service and the DPP. It is clear that an inquiry is the only way of getting to the truth. It has been far too long already. We are now approaching the seventh anniversary of Shane's death. We cannot delay any further. The Taoiseach and his predecessor did not rule out a public inquiry. We cannot delay any further and must progress that.

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