Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire agus roimh an mBille seo. I take this opportunity to welcome the families. I have no doubt but that this is not their first visit to Leinster House. They have had plenty of meetings over the years with various Governments, Ministers and taoisigh, and they are still fighting for justice. I wish them a speedy conclusion, at least from this vantage point, to these issues.

I was a member of the Cabinet when a former Attorney General agreed to a fresh inquest into the Stardust tragedy. I was only six, I think, when the tragedy happened. I was too young to remember it, but I have certainly read about it and seen footage of its aftermath. It comes up quite often on "Reeling in the Years", an excellent programme on a wide range of issues. Anyone not initially familiar with the tragedy would become familiar with it from those scenes. The incident was harrowing, unbelievable and so cruel. The aftermath and the verdict at the time were particularly cruel.

I welcome the Bill Senator Boylan has introduced. There is absolutely merit in looking at jury selection in cases such as this. Reference has been made to a Bill published by Senator McDowell when he was a Minister. That legislation would have dealt with many of the issues relating to jury selection. A combination of measures in both Bills, with the assistance of the Department and the Attorney General, could fast-track a definite course of action in respect of this matter. Jury selection in these cases seems to be at the discretion of the Garda. I have heard that in certain areas the same or a small group of people come in for every inquest, which is not the way things should be done. It should be similar to the practice for juries for trials. It is important that this be changed and that people have full confidence in the process. I therefore support the Bill. I hope that the Minister will support it, certainly in its spirit, and that, together with what the former Minister, Senator McDowell, published, we can come to a better system of selection for inquests.

I spoke previously about inquests, on a Private Member's Bill in the Lower House, and mentioned a scenario that arose. I wish to put it on the record again if the Minister is looking at changes and issues in respect of coroners, albeit not specifically in respect of jury selection in this case. I came across a case in which a next of kin, through some sorts of mistakes, was not invited to the inquest into her own mother's passing. I wish to put on the record that this did not happen in Galway; I will not say where it happened. It caused huge upset to that individual, who was looking forward to speaking her mind and giving her thoughts to an inquest into her mother's passing. The inquest was held and was over by the time she found out about it. That was heartbreaking for the person involved. It seemed to be some sort of oversight involving the Garda telling a family member and that word not getting through. What happened was unbelievable. That girl was an only child. Her father had died previously and her mother had died in this case. She was not notified of the inquest. I raise that case just in case there are changes down the line in respect of coroners. It is an issue that has to be rectified.

Getting back to the scenario at hand, there are issues. The points Senator Boylan raised about ensuring that the process is fully transparent have validity. The families were not satisfied, society was not satisfied and the Dáil and the Oireachtas were not satisfied with the original decision, so it is important in the case of this fresh inquest that the decision has been made that there must be full confidence in the process. That starts with a jury in respect of which people can have confidence its members are picked fairly and transparently, and randomly, or however it can be done, as is done in other cases. I hope that the Minister can take on board the spirit of the Bill and work with it to provide a speedy conclusion to this too-long-running saga and that justice will finally be received.