Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Deenihan, and thank him for coming before the House to deal with this matter, which calls on the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to bring pressure on the German authorities to have an inquiry reopened into the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Matthew Fitzpatrick from Portumna, County Galway, in Mannheim, Germany, on 11 December 2010. Mr. Fitzpatrick was a successful computer engineer and was aged 34 when he was found dead in his apartment in Mannheim two weeks before Christmas in 2010. He had intended to come home to Portumna in order to spend the holidays with his family. The autopsy conducted by the German authorities indicated that Matthew died by self-inflicted strangulation.

His family had its suspicions and conducted its own inquiries and investigations.

A second autopsy was conducted in Dublin on 18 December 2010 when Matthew's body was repatriated by the former deputy State pathologist, Dr. Khalid Jaber. It raised several troubling questions which have convinced the Fitzpatrick family that Matthew did not die by suicide, but had been the victim of a violent assault given the range of injuries found on his body, 45 in total, some of which were defensive. The police investigators in Mannheim initially closed the case on 22 December 2010, but after much pressure from the family the investigation was reopened. In June 2014 it concluded that there was no reason to change its view on what happened to Matthew. The public prosecutor in Mannheim disregarded most of the evidence submitted by the Fitzpatrick family and several other aspects, including the autopsy conducted by the former deputy State pathologist, Dr. Jaber.

There are several very troubling aspects to this case. Recently the family requested an independent forensic radiologist to review CT scans which were taken of Matthew's body prior to the first autopsy in Germany. Unfortunately, the scans were of a low resolution and therefore it requested high resolution scans from Heidelberg where the first autopsy took place in order that the independent review could be completed. The family's lawyer submitted the request and was told yesterday that all autopsy medical information related to Matthew no longer exists. These CT scans provided specific information relating to injuries sustained by Matthew and it is deeply disturbing that the German authorities have destroyed this vital information. It is my understanding and that of the family that these records should be kept for a minimum of ten years. We believe this to be a European standard to which Germany has agreed.

There were other troubling aspects. Witnesses and the family provided information on abusive and threatening messages that Matthew received from an individual. The German authorities did not question this individual because he needed a translator. The family also provided evidence that Matthew's PC and laptop were accessed after his death. This access happened three hours after his body was found, on the following day and on three further occasions until 7 January 2011. The police stated that there was no technology in the apartment and no further analysis has been done to identify who had access to Matthew's IT equipment. The family also provided evidence on text messages from Matthew's phone, but this information was not analysed or taken into account.

The witness who found Matthew's body has changed his account of the position of the body three times. The person stated that he was hanging. The family provided evidence to show that this was impossible. The witness was allowed to change his account with no analysis or cross-examination. There were thefts of equipment belonging to Matthew from the apartment, including his professional camera, personal laptop and baseball bat. This was reported to the police, but it rejected it as an issue.

There is clear evidence that the investigation conducted to date has been flawed. The family is convinced that it has provided enough evidence and proof to show that Matthew did not take his own life. The family is asking for a meeting with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Flanagan, and for a thorough analysis to be conducted by the Minister and the Department of the evidence it is in a position to provide. The Minister could then put pressure on the German authorities to reopen the review of the circumstances leading to the death of Matthew Fitzpatrick, a young man who had a bright career and future ahead of him and who lost his life in very tragic circumstances.

The family is convinced that he did not die by suicide, but that there were injuries on his body which will prove he was the victim of a severe and vicious attack. I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to address this matter. I look forward to his reply. I hope my request for a meeting between the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and the family can be acceded to.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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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.

Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. I welcome the fact that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will continue to provide all appropriate consular assistance to the family and facilitate its dealings with the German authorities. I appreciate that the Department cannot interfere in the judicial process of another state. However, given the volume of information and the facts available, I want a meeting with the Minister to take place. I want to ensure that all the facts of the case are made available to him and the Department.

I hope some progress can be made in the near future to further process this case with the German authorities. The family maintains the volume of evidence available strongly suggests Matthew Fitzpatrick did not die as a result of suicide. The family is determined to obtain justice for Matthew and they intend to continue until they get the case reviewed and until all the information that they have made available and which is in the public domain is reviewed by the German authorities. They believe much of the information they have provided has been disregarded by the German authorities. There are serious questions to be asked about the conduct of the autopsy, given the nature of the injuries found on the body during an autopsy conducted by the deputy State pathologist in Dublin after Matthew's body was repatriated. Many aspects of this case are deeply troubling. I look forward to the Minister meeting the family to discuss this urgent matter.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Mullins for raising this important and tragic matter in the Seanad. The Minister has agreed to meet the family. It is simply a matter of deciding on a date at this stage. If Senator Mullins communicates with the Minister's secretary I imagine a date can be finalised as soon as possible.

Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State and I appreciate his comments.