Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I cannot say I am happy to speak on this motion this evening because it involves the setting up of a statutory inquiry into the death of a young man who should be alive today. I welcome Lucia O'Farrell, her husband, Jim, and Shane's sisters to the House again. I compliment Lucia on her painstaking and forensic work. As the now Acting Cathaoirleach, an Teachta Connolly, said a few minutes ago, she seldom got such a detailed brief in her previous incarnation. I salute Lucia's tenacity. No mother should have to do that. What she already had to go through was agonising enough.

I sympathise with the family of a woman in her 50s who was knocked down on the road and killed in my area yesterday. That is horrific enough, but it is made worse when, as in the case of the driver in the Shane O'Farrell case, there is such an inept investigation into a man with such a litany of previous convictions. It beggars belief that this should have happened. Shane went out for his cycle that evening when he came home from his studies. He had all his life ahead of him and then this happened. Shane O’Farrell should be alive. His death at just 23 years of age while cycling in County Monaghan in 2011 was completely avoidable. Before the recess we briefly covered the main facts of his death. Today we debate the need for an inquiry. I compliment Deputy O'Callaghan and his colleagues on tabling this motion.

It is vital that the family receive this inquiry given the entirely inadequate report that has been furnished to them following seven exhaustive years in which Lucia and her family have tried to obtain justice and accountability for Shane.

I was surprised at what the Minister said in an earlier debate. I know he was not in government at the time but he made ridiculous comments about the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC, and the inquiry. We want to support GSOC, but as I said it is toothless, useless and fruitless. That is what it is proving to be for the O'Farrell family and for many others. I appeared before its forerunner, which was useless, toothless and fruitless. It is just scratching at the surface with no proper powers. It is fine setting it up and appointing a new member, as was done this evening. However, it needs to have the powers and it must have engagement.

When the chair of the Policing Authority, Ms Josephine Feehily, appeared before the Joint Committee on Justice and Equality she pleaded for more resources, more responsibility and more line management, and not to be answerable to two different bodies. We do not say that lightly. Some good people work in GSOC, but they need to be effective. Above all, the public needs to have confidence. I spoke about the poll that was carried out. People do not know about GSOC and do not have confidence in it. That is a serious deficit that the Minister needs to deal with.

The Minister pointed out that in 2014 the former Minister, Mr. Alan Shatter, referred the matter to GSOC, which in May 2014 referred the case to the independent review mechanism, IRM. It is all bodies with little action and no satisfaction. As I said the last day, this particular individual slaughtered Shane O'Farrell - it was not in an accident. He had so many previous convictions.

We talk about this every day of the week in our courts and the revolving doors and free legal aid. It is a monstrosity, a perversion of justice and a disgrace. We have an abysmal track record in this regard. Apparently no matter how many times it happens and how many tears are shed, we keep doing it to innocent families who deserve better. We must have these people made accountable and brought to justice. Despite the litany of court cases, the driver in the case of Shane O'Farrell was given bail. Having been pulled in, how could the sentence not have been carried out if he was caught again in the jurisdiction? The legacy of this case is unbelievable. It took Lucia O'Farrell to painstakingly pull all this together to try to get this House to act.

We are being dragged kicking and screaming to act. We must act because we need to have confidence in An Garda Síochána and in GSOC. However, we must root out the people who did not do their job - those who stopped that carload of people who had so many convictions with no motor tax or car insurance, but let them travel on. People - young lads or whatever - regularly contact my office because they might not have a car taxed. One lad contacted me recently. His car was taxed but he did not have the tax disk up because he only got it that day. He was three miles from his home and his car was impounded. We have a law for ordinary people, but these mobsters - they are foreign nationals on our shore here and we like to welcome them - can carry out crime after crime in a cavalier fashion and probably get free legal aid time after time. Then somebody can be slaughtered on the road by the same person.

Our system is unable to engage with these cases. It is a downright disgrace. The system is toothless, useless and fruitless. I am not directly that remark to the Minister at a personal level. He is the Minister of the time. Somebody has to rectify the problem because it is just not acceptable. I support An Garda Síochána 100%, but I do not support cover-ups or denials of the truth. I do not support burying cases such as this. It is a human tragedy and there are many more of them as well. I will stick to this one tonight. I again salute the family and I hope this inquiry will not be long and drawn out.

I note the Minister has tabled an amendment to the motion, as have other parties. We cannot pussyfoot around on this. Justice must be done and must be seen to be done.

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