Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I fully accept the Deputy's absolute sincerity on this issue. As the Deputy quite rightly said, the report has not been seen yet because it has not been published. He is asking me a direct question as to when it will be published. I am conscious of the substantial nature of the report and that there was a meeting between the family, the then Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, and the then Minister, Deputy McEntee. I am also conscious there was legal advice in respect of publication. I am considering all that and I intend to go to the Cabinet very shortly in relation to this matter.

We must remind ourselves and this House that the Government's decision to establish this scoping exercise by retired Judge Haughton was a direct response to the Oireachtas's request for further examination to be given to this issue. The final revised terms of reference for Judge Haughton's scoping exercise settled in July 2019 and the judge's remit was to advise the Minister for Justice on whether there were any circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. O'Farrell which warranted further investigation or inquiry beyond those already carried out, whether any inquiry was necessary into the systems and procedures for the sharing of information between An Garda Síochána, the Courts Service and other relevant State bodies operating at the time of Shane O'Farrell's death, the form of any such investigation or inquiry, its terms of reference and the suggested composition of the investigation or inquiry. The next step now is for me to finalise my consideration of the report and to advise the Cabinet on the matter.

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