Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I will start by expressing my deepest sympathies to the family, friends and community of Patrick Nugent on their tragic loss.  Although this happened more than 36 years ago, I know the pain of losing Patrick will not have diminished in this time and I greatly appreciate deeply the family's desire to understand the circumstances which led to his death.   

As the Deputy will be aware, an inquiry under section 42 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 into the Garda Síochána investigation following Patrick's death in 1984 is being carried out by the former judge, Patrick Clyne.  On 16 June 2020, my predecessor as Minister, Deputy Charlie Flanagan, approved a five-month extension of the inquiry to 31 July 2020. This included a retrospective period following a previous extension that had been granted to 29 February 2020.  In early August, my Department was advised that while the judge had broadly completed the report, he was not yet in a position to submit it and it was anticipated that it would be the end of September before the completed report was submitted.

We are now in the middle of October. My officials were, therefore, again in contact with the judge this week and he has indicated that he expects to be in a position to send the final report to me in the coming two weeks. I expect to have it within those two weeks. Following receipt of the report, I will consult the Attorney General with a view to providing the report to the Nugent family and publishing a copy on my Department's website as soon as possible.

As to the Deputy's final question, my understanding is that the names of individuals, agencies and groups are often removed to protect their identities. I do not believe anything untoward was intended.

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