Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank all Members who contributed to this debate, which has been valuable. It is apparent that the majority of Members of Dáil Éireann believe there should be a statutory investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Shane O'Farrell. As I make my contribution and as I listen to other Members make valuable contributions, at the forefront of my mind is the family of Shane O'Farrell. One thing I want to be very clear about is that I do not want to provide the family with false hope in respect of what an investigation can or cannot provide. Unfortunately, no investigation is going to provide justice in the way we view justice, whereby the person responsible for the death of Shane is held to account before our courts. That is not going to happen in this situation for reasons we already know. Notwithstanding that, the family is entitled to be given their own level of justice in terms of accountability and they are entitled to be informed by the State why it was that this individual was not brought back before Monaghan Circuit Court, it having been directed that he should be brought back when he committed other theft offences or breached his bail bond.

Very many people come to me looking for me, and Fianna Fáil, to support investigations and inquiries. In most instances, I say "No" if I do not believe there is any justification or any benefit in having such an inquiry. In this instance, I believe there is a benefit in having an inquiry. This is not simply because I think the GSOC report has left questions that need to be answered, but because the circumstances of this case go beyond issues in respect of members of An Garda Síochána.

I listened very carefully to the Minister's speech this evening. He presented this debate as though it was between those who believe in GSOC and those who do not believe in GSOC but that is not the debate we are having. Many Members of this House, including myself, support the work of GSOC and want to see GSOC succeed. In an earlier debate this evening, I said there were concerns that confidence in GSOC within the Houses of the Oireachtas is being eroded. It is being eroded to a large extent by an absence of resources available to the organisation and for other reasons. However, simply because GSOC has done a report does not mean it is incompatible to ask that there be a further investigation. The Minister has all but admitted this by stating that, when the GSOC report is completed, he will give consideration to whether or not there should be a commission of investigation. By stating that, the Minister expressly recognises that one can have a GSOC report but it may be necessary to take a step further and have another statutory inquiry. Looking at the workload of GSOC and the limited powers it has, one can see that it is a very different animal from a commission of investigation and that is why we believe there should be an inquiry as we suggest in our motion.

The GSOC report has taken six years and has not yet been completed and that is primarily a problem with resourcing.

Is the family and the public supposed to wait for another number of years before the rest of the report is completed? In the end, this is not simply about trying to blame people. The circumstances of Mr. Shane O'Farrell's death are too tragic for that. As I keep stating, however, the family is entitled to some accountability, although the justice deserved will never be achieved in respect of Mr. O'Farrell's death.

Comments have been made on whether it should be a public inquiry or a commission of investigation. Irrespective of that divergence of opinion, it is important that the Minister gets the message that the majority of Members of Dáil Éireann support there being an investigation. The circumstances of this case and the manner of the issues that need to be investigated would benefit from a commission of investigation. I ask the Minister to give consideration to that.

I welcome the contributions of everyone here. I ask the Minister to keep an open mind on this and not to view it simply as protecting GSOC. There are many important issues that need to be investigated and I ask the Minister to recognise that it not just about appeasing and trying to facilitate a family. It is also about the public interest. That is why we are here. The public interest requires that there be a further investigation of this matter.

See this speech in context