Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday I had intended to raise an issue, but I was unable to do so because time ran out. The issue was one that had received extensive coverage in the national media and related to the sequel to the death in Mullingar of Mr. Andrew Dolan from Carrick-on-Shannon. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam. The case finally came to a conclusion yesterday, but serious issues arise from it which have been reported in the media and which I wish to bring to the attention of the Leader. Judge Anthony Hunt said Mr. Dolan had been "minding his own business" on the night in question but had been "singled out and confronted by Ms Hughes" who had slapped him. He was subsequently struck by Mr. Patrick Daly. The people involved, whose names are in the public domain, were Ms Jessica Hughes of Killucan, County Westmeath and a Mr. Patrick Daly of Clonard, County Meath. Mr. Dolan was struck by Mr. Daly before another man delivered a blow which resulted in an injury which proved fatal. The third person involved, Mr. Patrick Farrell, has already been sentenced to three and a half years in prison. The point I wanted to make was that the judge had said that in a "human sense" the pair had contributed to the death of Mr. Dolan. He also said he was saying this "in the most general sense, not in the narrow legal sense." He suggested the law could be looked at to cover the issue of peripheral involvement in order to deal with matters of collective responsibility. In other words, the three people in question attacked this innocent young man who had been at a party, put his hands up to walk away and said, "Please don't hit me, please don't hit me." As his parents said, all of his family had been advised to walk away from trouble. As a result of the fatal blow, his head hit the sidewalk outside the fast food restaurant in Mullingar and he subsequently died. Not only was his death such an appalling tragedy, its timing could not have been worse in that it happened over the Christmas period. Will the Leader ask the Minister for Justice and Equality to take account of the comments of Judge Hunt in this case? Not only has the unfortunate Dolan family, whom I know well and who are pillars of the community in Carrick-on-Shannon, suffered as a result, other families have suffered, too, because of random, senseless acts of violence on the streets of Ireland on a weekly basis. My final comment comes from the victim impact statement made by Mr. Joe Dolan yesterday. He said, "In God's name, can someone call a halt to this senseless carnage?"