Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I met Ms Lucia O'Farrell and her husband, James, when I was Sinn Féin spokesperson on justice many years ago. I will never forget that meeting. As a long-standing Deputy, the Minister for Justice and Equality will appreciate that some meetings with families that have been through unspeakable grief are harrowing. My memory of that meeting is that the family had been destroyed by tragedy. Shane's mother, Lucia, had a framed picture of her beloved son and she had so many questions. It has been a long and hard road to get to the process now under way with Judge Haughton. The family has seen much disappointment and frustration.

It was clear from early on that the matters arising were not solely applicable to An Garda Síochána and they related almost to the entire criminal justice system and how it functions not just in this State but throughout the island, how it communicates and how it ensures that those who are a threat to the public can be taken off the streets. These are very serious matters. It was always going to require much more than just a GSOC investigation as the scope needed to be much wider. The only way of getting to the truth is a full public inquiry.

It is the duty of any Government to respect the wishes of the majority of democratically elected representatives. A majority of the Dáil voted for a public inquiry and we unanimously passed a motion in this Chamber seeking a public inquiry. The Minister will recall that the motion, tabled by Senator David Norris and similar to the previous Dáil motion, laid out the catalogue of failure that culminated in the circumstances that led to Shane's death. Rather than respecting the democratic wishes of the Members of both Houses, the Minister proceeded to get advice and asked Judge Haughton to carry out this scoping exercise.

It makes me angry today that the Minister referred to the track record of Judge Haughton and how eminent he is because nobody has disputed that. The family has made clear its absolute respect for Judge Haughton but its issue is with the Department of Justice and Equality. The family's issue is with the Minister's statement that his Department has no wish to interfere with the remit of Judge Haughton, whom he speaks of in venerable terms today; it is exactly what the Department has done. Judge Haughton engaged with the O'Farrell family and he is an eminent man of the law. He is fully aware of the Supreme Court decision referred to by the Minister and, in his wisdom, he submitted terms of reference to the Minister that are precise and would allow us to get to the truth. They are within the framework of the European Convention on Human Rights, which all governments must adhere to in such cases. The Department has chosen to reject those, so the only people demonstrating disrespect to Judge Haughton are the Minister and his officials. There is nobody else. We do not need the Minister to lecture us on his view of this judge as he has demonstrated profound disrespect to him and his interpretation of the law.

I recall the Shatter v. Guerin episode well as I was my party's justice spokesperson at the time. It is incredible that the Minister would present this case as the context for seriously amending the terms of reference presented by Judge Haughton. The issue at stake there was an investigation carried out by Mr. Guerin, a senior counsel, who did not consult the then Minister with responsibility for justice, Mr. Alan Shatter, to establish a response to the issues that were at stake but who had consulted other parties. The finding was a lack of justice in that but it has no application to this matter because Judge Haughton is not making commentary on the standing of any persons. He is merely making recommendations as to what way we should proceed to get to the truth and justice.

The Department of Justice and Equality has historically been one of the most conservative Departments in government and resistant to change, and it has failed in so many ways, as evidenced by a multitude of episodes in recent years leading to two Ministers and other senior personnel having to resign. It is astounding that motions from the Dáil and Seanad have instructed the Government to move to a public inquiry but the Minister has not done that. It has given the task to Judge Haughton and the Minister spoke about his track record, which nobody has questioned. The family has outlined clearly its respect for the judge.

It is outrageous that we are here again today having to engage with the Minister. I have no doubt that despite the outcome of today's statements, he will refuse to accept the will of the Dáil, as he did last week and will do in regard to this House again today. He has no respect for these two Houses on this matter. If he did, the Minister would stand up to his departmental officials. If he respected Judge Haughton, he would stand over his proposed terms of reference but he has not done so. Yet again we have another Minister who refuses to stand up to the conservative elements in this Department, thereby failing a family.

The family members are watching this on the live feed and could not be here because of the short notice for today's debate. If they were here, they would say that the death of their beloved son and brother would not have been in vain if we could get to the truth and change our criminal justice system, the way An Garda Síochána communicates with our courts and the Police Service of Northern Ireland or how our courts communicate with each other on this island. If this could happen, no other family would have to endure what they have had to. If this is about getting to the truth, learning lessons and honouring the memory of that young man, the Minister must stand up to the officials in the Department and give Judge Haughton the framework he requested. He must enable us in getting to the truth. That is his challenge and although I hope he can accept it, I very much doubt he will do so.