Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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1. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide an update on the independent review mechanism; when the independent review will be completed; the actions that will be taken as a result of the independent review; if cases from the independent review may form part of the commission of investigation following the Guerin report; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1488/15]

Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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The question asks the Minister to provide an update on the independent review mechanism which was established last July; to inform us when this review will be completed and what actions are likely to follow as a result of the review; and to explain if any cases which are part of the review could form part of the commission of investigation established following the Guerin report.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Government, as part of its response to the report by Seán Guerin SC, took the initiative to have an independent review carried out of the allegations of Garda misconduct which had been submitted to my Department, to An Taoiseach and to a number of other public representatives. This unprecedented decision was taken with a view to getting an objective and independent legal view on whether further action might be warranted in any case.

As the Deputy is aware, a panel consisting of two senior and five junior counsel was established for that purpose. This independent review panel has been examining 311 cases referred to it and is now nearing completion of its work. This is a significant number of cases, and somewhat higher than originally estimated, but I thought it was important to refer all of the allegations and cases that have been made to me as Minister, or to the Taoiseach or other representatives in the House, whether they came directly from complainants or through representative groups such as Justice4All, with, I would highlight, only the most minimal filtering out of cases which did not actually relate to the Garda Síochána. This means that counsel are examining a very wide range of cases, some of which deal directly with the Garda Síochána but others of which extend to other aspects of the criminal justice system beyond my remit, such as the prosecution and trial of offences. It is also worth noting that the cases contain a very wide variety of allegations in terms of seriousness.

I assure the Deputy that where further investigation is recommended by the review, that will occur. However, I would also make the point again that, in many cases, counsel may recommend that no further action can reasonably be taken. This might be, for example, because a case has already been through due process, such as a full investigation by GSOC or a court hearing, even though the complainant remains unhappy with the outcome. The crucial point, however, is that every case will have been reviewed by independent counsel, who will have made an objective recommendation.

The panel has made significant progress at this point and the submission of recommendations to me is being prepared by officials in the Department. Every recommendation will be very carefully considered but, as a matter of general principle, let me say clearly that, in coming to a decision in each case, I will be very strongly guided by the independent advice that is being given to me. Quite clearly, as we have engaged counsel for this review, it would be entirely appropriate to be guided by their advice. There will be no undue delay in the process of notifying complainants of the outcome of the review, a process that I expect will start shortly.

Where counsel do recommend further investigations, I will be guided by that. There are a number of possible options - for example, referral to GSOC - but any recommendation for referral of a case to a commission of investigation will be very carefully considered, including whether this could be achieved by way of amending the terms of reference of the Guerin commission or the establishment of a separate commission.

Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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At an opportunity like this, we have to take stock of where we are with regard to a number of commissions. The House was told the Fennelly commission would report before Christmas, and that has not happened. The commission concerning Ronan McLoughlin was established last July, as the Minister is aware, given that we discussed it at the justice committee and here in the House. It has not got off the ground yet, and concern has been raised about that. We now have the commission following the Guerin report, which seems to be restricted to Garda practices in the Cavan-Monaghan district.

There is concern out there that the families whose cases are subject to the independent review have not been kept informed as to the progression and the likely outcomes. Concern has been expressed to me and other public representatives about why the terms of reference of the commission following Guerin do not provide for any cases which fall out of the independent review and which merit further independent scrutiny. We already have three commissions of inquiry either established or in the process of being established, and there are questions over their functioning and whether they are doing the job they are supposed to be doing. For example, I am being lobbied by people connected to the Cynthia Owen case, the Shane O'Farrell case and the Sarah Bland case. They want independent commissions of investigation into their circumstances. The commission which was established post-Guerin should provide for cases which fall out of the independent review mechanism rather than leaving people in limbo or thinking there will not be any follow-up after the independent review by the barristers. Will the Minister consider amending the terms of reference which were published prior to Christmas to include cases that flow from the independent review mechanism?

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As I said, the number of cases I referred to the independent review is quite large, and there is a wide variety of cases. I did originally say that the investigation would, I hoped, take a number of months, but in fact it is taking longer. One of the reasons it is taking longer, of course, is the complexity of some of the cases, the working through of the material and the amount of written material that has been supplied by individual complainants.

As I said, the counsel are working their way through the various cases and making recommendations. I will have a summary of those recommendations in the near future. It would have been anticipating the outcome of those cases if I had included them in the Guerin commission.

The legal advice when I was establishing the Guerin commission was that I would be unable to do that in advance of the outcome of the recommendations, because we would not quite know what was being referred if we did not have the outcome of the independent review of those cases. In that context, I was unable to include them in the terms of reference of the Guerin commission when I published it and I did not want to delay that further. However, as I have said, if a commission is recommended as a way forward for any of the cases referred to and being examined by the review commission, that is certainly a possibility.

Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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I mentioned three individual cases and there are other cases for which people are seeking a commission of investigation. I appreciate that some 311 cases are being reviewed. In terms of the possible outcome of these reviews, the Minister has indicated that if a commission of investigation is warranted, she will pursue that. I welcome that, as will the people involved in the 311 cases. Has the Minister considered what might follow on this in terms of redress? Has she or the Department considered that issue?

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy has already pointed out that a number of commissions are operating. This is due to the response of the Government to legitimate public concerns and concerns of Members. The Deputy has picked out three particular cases. However, it would not be right for me to pick out particular cases. In each case, the same approach is being taken, but I cannot anticipate any outcome. It is a serious matter to refer a case to a commission or to establish a commission. I cannot anticipate whether any case or how many cases will be referred as suitable for a commission of investigation.

The Deputy has mentioned three cases and obviously I am familiar with cases where people have serious concerns. For cases like this, it is unprecedented for a Government to set up an independent legal assessment. I will be guided by the outcome of that assessment and will examine the outcome for each of the cases. I will also consider whether any theme emerges from that work that might recommend other actions I may need to take as Minister for Justice and Equality.