David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all Members for their contributions. I convey my personal condolences to the family of Shane O’Farrell on their loss.

We are all of the view that there were serious failings and shortcomings in the period prior to which Shane O’Farrell lost his life. During a thorough and lengthy criminal investigation, GSOC examined each of the 56 allegations or concerns put to it.. The report on the criminal investigation, published in recent days, addresses each issue in turn. While it found no evidence of criminal behaviour by gardaí, it did identify a number of potential breaches of the Garda disciplinary code. GSOC is completing its report on the disciplinary issues identified in its examination of all the matters before it. It is important to allow GSOC, an independent statutory body established following the passage of a law in these Houses, to do its work. GSOC deserves our confidence. I remind Deputies that the outcome may require the Garda Commissioner to institute procedures that could result in disciplinary sanctions against one or more gardaí, which could be very serious for them. These gardaí deserve fair procedures and we should be mindful of this. Further, where disciplinary procedures are merited, they should be enforced and we should be careful not to undermine the Garda Commissioner's capacity to impose sanctions, where appropriate.

The family of Shane O'Farrell deserve answers. In the first GSOC report, most of the complaints made to it were answered. Some remain to be answered in the context of the ongoing GSOC investigation. I have no doubt that GSOC, in its usual thorough and meticulous fashion, will provide those answers before too long. I trust that every Deputy who contributed to the debate has carefully read GSOC's first report and the statement it issued at the time of publication. I share the view of the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, that GSOC does important work and deserves the confidence of this House.

GSOC has a difficult task to perform and it does this in a way which retains the confidence of gardaí and the public. The Minister outlined the shortcomings in the motion proposed by Fianna Fáil and the reasons the Government proposed an amendment to it, which I do not propose to repeat. The net point is that the Government wants the facts to be established in this tragic case. When GSOC has completed its work, the Government has committed to examining what further action may be necessary. As the Minister promised, if this requires a commission of investigation, the Government will move to set up such a commission. From the perspective of the family of Shane O’Farrell, this has been a long process thus far and it is, of course, very frustrating that it is not yet complete. I hope that when the second part of the GSOC investigation is complete, all their questions will have been answered. If this is not the case, as guaranteed in the Government's amendment to the motion, consideration will be given to what further action may be necessary. As the Minister promised, if this requires a commission of investigation, the Government will move to set up such a commission.

I would like to respond to some of the points raised during the debate. It is incorrect to say that the independent review mechanism did not examine the complaints referred to it by the O'Farrell family. It did examine the complaints but it recommended that no further action by the Minister was necessary because GSOC was investigating those same complaints and it is the appropriate forum to carry out that investigation.

There was a reference to March "2017" in the GSOC report but my officials have clarified with GSOC that this date was an typographical error and should have read "2018". I understand that this has been corrected in the report as published on the GSOC website.

The prudent and sensible thing to do is to await the outcome of the current investigation so that we can better determine whether there are still matters which require investigation. If a commission of investigation is considered necessary at that stage, which should not be too long, it will allow the Government, and ultimately, the Oireachtas to decide with greater clarity what the terms of reference should be. I commend the amendment to the House.

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