Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh theaghlach Uí Fhearghail: Lucia agus Jim, tuismitheoirí Shane; agus a dheirfiúracha. The death of Shane O'Farrell was a devastating blow to the O'Farrell family but so too has been the incompetence and the catalogue of appalling decisions made by An Garda Síochána, the DPP, the justice system and all of the agencies of the State that have been involved in this case. Like other citizens who have had to suffer an injustice, Mr. O'Farrell's family have had to take on the entire State. Let me ask the Minister a very straight question. If it was not for the work of Mr. Farrell's mother, there would be no discussion here tonight and there would have been no proper scrutiny of what had occurred. This family and this young man have been very badly let down by the very systems that are supposed to protect citizens. Sinn Féin believes that a public inquiry is best placed to get all of the facts. I also appeal to Fianna Fáil to accept our amendment.

I want to focus on one particular area with the Minister, as I have previously done with the Taoiseach. That area is the role and responsibility of the DPP in this and in other cases. The constant refrain of the Government is that the DPP is independent and that it has sole responsibility to decide when and if charges are brought in any given case. However, the DPP's role in the Shane O'Farrell case raises significant concerns about its incompetence. In addition, we know that in the case of Crevan Mackin, who shot and killed Garda Tony Golden, that a decision was taken by the DPP not to charge him with offences to which he had admitted, including the possession of weapons and explosives. One of these weapons was almost certainly responsible for the murder of Garda Golden and the grievous wounding of Siobhán Phillips. There are also the serious questions arising from the DPP's decision to prosecute people over the incident at Jobstown involving the former Tánaiste, Deputy Joan Burton.

There should be an oversight body, a criminal justice inspectorate, that can hold the DPP to account for the inexplicable decisions it takes. In November 2016 the then Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, met the O'Farrell family and told them that he would ask the Attorney General to "request the Law Reform Commission President Mr Justice John Quirke to examine how we can reform the law to provide enhanced public understanding for significant decisions made whilst fully preserving the independence of the Director of Public Prosecutions." Nothing more has been heard of this proposal. I have also written to the Minister on this matter but, so far, I have not received a reply, although I have learned that prompt and clear replies from the Minister are extremely rare. Can the Minister clarify the status of the former Taoiseach's request to the Law Reform Commission? Was the request ever made? Has the president of the Law Reform Commission ever agreed to undertake this work? The Government has a responsibility to ensure that the DPP is accountable for its decisions. It has a responsibility to ensure this happens. In the meantime the Minister should establish the public inquiry the O'Farrell family deserves.

See this speech in context