Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I raise the important matter brought to public attention by Deputy Allan Kelly at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration yesterday. As court proceedings are still in train in respect of some aspects of the matters raised, I have to be careful in what I say and I will be. However, it appears that three persons, described by the court as "young and naive", were charged with possession of three firearms and ammunition on 2 March 2024 in County Kildare. It further appears that an attempt had been made to purchase firearms on the dark web. It now appears that members of An Garda Síochána met at least one of the three persons charged without revealing their identity and had made arrangements for the firearms and ammunition in question to be delivered to the three young men. It further appears that a controlled delivery took place using weapons already owned or seized by An Garda Síochána. Following the controlled delivery, other members of An Garda Síochána intercepted the car in which the three young men were travelling and arrested them under the Offences Against the State Act. The court was subsequently told that all three men admitted possession of the firearms in question. The court was told that there was no suspected connection with organised crime or terrorism and that the guns were intended for target shooting in the woods. The court was also told that the three young men were childhood friends and that one of them, the late Evan Fitzgerald, had a fascination with firearms. Strangely, it appears that the court was also informed that the Garda was still investigating who sold the firearms to the defendants. It now appears that Evan Fitzgerald, who is described as a "vulnerable young man", was the central figure in an incident at a Carlow shopping centre this year, in which he publicly took his own life in the course of a major incident there.

I am deeply concerned that all of these events could have been avoided if diversion, rather than entrapment and prosecution, had been deployed by An Garda Síochána. I am also concerned that by informing the court in question that gardaí were still investigating by whom the weapons were sold, the court was actively misled. The entrapment and prosecution of three young men for firearms offences involved the gravest of consequences for their lives and their careers. One of them apparently chose to end his own life, rather than continue with the criminal process.

I am also concerned that, according to the Garda Commissioner yesterday, Fiosrú, the watchdog of An Garda Síochána, has apparently indicated no concern in relation to these events. I ask the Leader to arrange for a debate in this House on the practice and ethics of entrapment and the need for An Garda Síochána to be frank and honest with the courts in relation to its conduct of such prosecutions. I ask that the Minister for justice come here for such a debate and explain how it is that these events took place.