Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on this motion this evening and happily support it, to ask the Government to acknowledge that the Department of Justice and Equality's terms of reference do not address the needs of the O'Farrell family. Shane O'Farrell, a bright young man with an abundance of opportunities before him, had his life cut short in a hit-and-run road traffic incident on 2 August 2011. The perpetrator of the act was a man who had a long record before the criminal courts over the previous three years, with more than 40 convictions. The driver had previously broken bail conditions a number of times and had been sentenced to a prison term which the records show he did not serve. The driver was on bail at the time of Shane's tragic death.

On 5 February, the Minister for Justice and Equality announced the appointment of District Court Judge Gerard Haughton to conduct a scoping exercise into matters surrounding the events leading to the death of Shane. The Minister stated that Judge Haughton was free to recommend any course of action which he considered appropriate. On 24 April, Judge Haughton submitted final terms of reference to the Minister for Justice and Equality. On 29 July, the Department of Justice and Equality rejected the terms of reference submitted by Judge Haughton and provided terms of reference significantly narrower than the judge's terms of reference and those provided by the Minister for Justice and Equality on 5 February. I find it bizarre that this Government can give a blank cheque to a judge to pursue a course of action and then, when the time comes to move forward, it ends up backpedalling so much that the chain has come off the wheels of justice.

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