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

I thank the Deputy. As she has alluded to, she raises a question relating to an investigation of nearly 50 years ago which culminated in the court’s overturning the convictions of two people in 1980, a pardon for one individual in 1992 and the payment of financial settlements. There is no doubt this case, and others of the time that we know of, cast a shadow on the trust we place in our criminal justice and policing systems to ensure justice is done in a fair way. It is important to note, however, that this happened several decades ago. The safeguards which were available at that time to those who were the subject of investigation were very different from those now in place. In fact, they were not in place at the time and this led to many challenges.

Following on from the work of the Ó Briain and Martin committees, the Criminal Justice Act 1984, which regulates the treatment of persons in custody, the Garda Síochána (Complaints) Act 1986 and the Criminal Procedure Act 1993, containing a new appeal procedure based on miscarriage of justice, were introduced. The available safeguards have been further and significantly strengthened in the years that followed.

Ireland now has an increasingly robust system of Garda oversight in place and the Government continues to develop and update our oversight processes. One example of this is the significant work undertaken by my Department to develop the proposals contained in the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill currently before the Houses. As I have said previously, there is always a threshold for holding a public inquiry and I am not aware of any matter of urgent public interest which would warrant reopening the matter, given that the courts have adjudicated on the cases and, in some instances, a presidential pardon was granted.

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