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

I thank Deputy Carthy for tabling this question. I know how much pain the O’Farrell family have gone through since August 2011. Neither I, Deputy Carthy nor anyone else in the House can alleviate that pain, but what we can try to do is ensure that answers are provided to the O'Farrell family in respect of the issues of concern from that terrible evening.

It is important to emphasise that primary responsibility for Shane’s death rests with Zigimantas Gridziuska, the man who drove the car that struck Shane from behind, who failed to stop and remain at the scene and who subsequently that evening hid his car away from his home. As Deputy Carthy will be aware, he was prosecuted in February 2013 for dangerous driving causing death. He was acquitted. I know that is not the justice outcome that the O'Farrell family wanted but it is the consequence that we have to deal with and respond to. There were, however, issues of concern that I highlighted previously, as did Deputy Carthy. These were that the driver was on bail at the time, gardaí stopped his car one hour before the collision and he had previous convictions that should have triggered his reappearance before the courts. Those were the reasons I tabled that motion in June 2018. The motion was effective because it resulted in the Government changing its approach to the Shane O'Farrell matter and establishing a scoping inquiry. That inquiry took longer than most scoping inquiries and came back with a very lengthy report of 415 pages. This was much longer than I or anyone else expected. I cannot ignore the scoping report, but I will refer the recommendations contained within it to the justice committee, once that committee is up and running. I will keep my mind open in respect of the matter and the question the Deputy asked, but I cannot give him a definitive answer now.

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