Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I take this opportunity to extend my deepest condolences to the Fitzpatrick family. I fully sympathise with the family as I understand how traumatic it is for any family when a loved one dies, and for this to occur in tragic circumstances is even more distressing. I wish to inform the Senator that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, through the embassy in Berlin and the consular assistance section in Dublin, has provided consular assistance to the deceased's family since they were first informed of his death on 13 December 2010.

Officials in the consular section of the Department have met the deceased's family on a number of occasions, including as recently as Friday, 17 October 2014. Officials have discussed the case with the family and explained the Department's position, including providing relevant information about the German system, that may be of assistance to it. I wish to advise the Senator that the consular assistance provided by the Department included facilitating contacts with police, undertakers, lawyers and the public prosecutors offices in Germany and with the Dublin county coroner's office and the Garda Síochána in Ireland.

On 15 December 2010, a diplomatic officer from the embassy in Berlin travelled to Mannheim and met relatives of the deceased. The embassy supplied details of English speaking funeral directors in the region to assist the family in making arrangements for repatriation. It provided assistance in dealing with the mortuary, local authorities and the appointed funeral director on behalf of the family. It also supplied a list of English speaking lawyers practicing locally in order that the family could get professional legal advice on the case and the procedures involved.

On 22 March 2011, the Garda liaison officer based in the Hague and the diplomatic officer from the embassy in Berlin travelled to Mannheim to meet the police officer who led the investigation into the death. It is my understanding that a senior representative of the state prosecutor's office of Baden-Württemberg was also present at this meeting. The embassy assisted the family in communicating to the representatives of the German authorities present its concerns regarding the manner in which the police investigation had been conducted. In addition, the embassy in Berlin provided unofficial courtesy translations of extensive police notes on the man's death.

Following repatriation of the deceased's remains, the embassy provided unofficial translation services for a considerable amount of documentation to facilitate the family's contacts with the German authorities. In addition, the Department translated into German a number of representations made by the family, as the Mannheim police authorities had made it clear that they were unable to process communications in English.

I understand that the police investigation made a determination as to the cause of death and that the Mannheim public prosecutor upheld this verdict in July 2011. Following this, the family appealed that decision to the regional public prosecutor in Karlsruhe which also upheld the verdict in September 2011. In February 2012, a second police investigation commenced and in June 2014 the office of the Mannheim public prosecutor stated that the case was closed, with no change to the finding.

I am very conscious of the plight of the family and sympathise with its great loss. However, the Department is not in a position to directly intervene in the German legal process. The Department cannot interfere or try to influence the judicial process of another state. It has consistently advised the family to take professional legal advice on the legal avenues that may be available to it in the pursuit of the case. Let me assure the Senator that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will continue to provide all appropriate consular assistance to the family and will continue to facilitate its dealings with the relevant German authorities.