Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)

First, I pay tribute to the family of Shane O'Farrell, namely, his mother Lucia, his father Jim and his sisters, Aimee, Pia, Hannah and Gemma, who are in the Distinguished Visitors' Gallery. I also acknowledge the official apology from the Minister for Justice. The family have been waiting for 14 years for this apology and for answers to questions about the death of their son and brother Shane. The apology is a reflection of the 14 years of campaigning by the family and their struggle for truth and justice. Shane O'Farrell should never have been taken away from his family. When I met Lucia, she told me of a kind, compassionate and caring son. Shane was a person who others turned to when they were in difficulty. He never turned people away. He listened and helped in any way that he could. He was hugely respected and loved. Shane had a bright future ahead of him and so much more to give. Shane was dearly loved by his family, including his sisters, his mother, Lucia and his father, Jim. The trauma, heartache and grief of losing Shane has been compounded by years of campaigning for truth and justice.

I raise the failures of GSOC, the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, which is now named Fiosrú. It spent seven years investigating the complaints of the family and has refused to publish the two reports it produced, adding to this trauma. GSOC had this case for seven years. Shane's sister, Gemma, initially put her complaints in in January 2012. Those complaints were still under investigation, when, on 29 April 2014, then Minister for Justice Alan Shatter ordered a section 102 public interest investigation. This directed that all complaints should be investigated independently of the Garda in the public interest. The public interest investigation was completed on 13 April 2018. The family received a summary version only. A year later, in January 2019, GSOC produced another section 97 report regarding minor discipline. This recommended to the Garda Commissioner that three Garda members receive disciplinary fines. The Garda Commissioner then appointed a superintendent to look at the recommendations by GSOC to see if these officers should receive discipline and he agreed that they should. One garda accepted the fine. The other two took judicial review proceedings and challenged the decision. The outcome of the judicial review proceedings was that the Garda Commissioner agreed on consent not to discipline the two gardaí. This was because there was no evidence that they had ever been trained on the PULSE system to check previous court outcomes. It was not part of their training then and still is not now. Responsibility for Garda training rests with the Garda Commissioner. The section 101 public interest report, which was completed in April 2018, has been refused to the family. The section 97 report regarding minor discipline has also been refused to the family.

In Northern Ireland, the police ombudsman, when it has completed its report, will call the family in, go through the report and give the family the report to take home as it might help to answer some of their questions. Why is such a practice not being followed here? How can there be proper confidence in a body that will not give families the very report which it has prepared and which is in the public interest? Taxpayers' money was spent on seven years' investigation of the complaints relating to the horrific failings in this case. It is imperative that these reports are given to the O'Farrell family. There is absolutely nothing in the legislation that states the reports should not be given to the family. I call on Fiosrú to immediately hand over these reports to the family of Shane O'Farrell and not make them wait any longer. Shane should be with his family today. Nothing can change that, but what can be changed is that the answers that the family have been campaigning for all these years can now be provided.

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