Seanad debates
Thursday, 3 December 2015
Commencement Matters
Missing Persons
10:30 am
James Heffernan (Social Democrats)
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I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I congratulate him and Oulart-The Ballagh on the terrific win at the weekend. It has been a long time coming for the club and well done to them. I would also spare a thought for Clough-Ballacolla. They threw it away against Oulart-The Ballagh a few weeks ago and it would have been great for Laois hurling if they had succeeded, but I wish the best of luck to the club continuing in the all-Ireland series.
The reason I have asked the Minister of State to come to the Seanad relates to the very tragic and quite frightening case of two missing persons. One is Anastasija Varslavane, a Latvian national, who lost her mother here in Ireland at the age of 17 and is left without anyone belonging to her. She has distant relatives and a grandmother in Latvia, but no one here in Ireland. At 21 years of age, Anastasija has disappeared, along with her partner, Willie Maughan. Willie is from a very well-respected family in the Killinarden estate. His father, Joe, is a very prominent member of the community there, who has given his heart, soul and life to the community in Killinarden through his involvement with the Sacred Heart soccer club. Willie, who was about the same age as myself, and his young, beautiful and three months pregnant girlfriend went missing in April of this year. They are missing, presumed dead. William and Anastasija are known to have fallen into company with a very dangerous and violent gangland figure who offered a large sum of money to William to carry out an assassination on behalf of the gang. William refused to comply and he and Anastasija are now missing and presumed dead. If this case happened anywhere else, there would be uproar. If it happened to an Irish citizen in a foreign country, we would all know about it. We saw in the cases of the murders of Karen Buckley in Glasgow and Jill Meagher in Australia how there was uproar among the relevant Irish diasporas and involvement by the Irish authorities, including An Garda Síochána. When it comes to taking on gangland persons in this State who have links with international crime and are involved in drugs, trafficking, theft of vehicles and murder, everything should be done to bring their activities to an end.
Will the Minister of State indicate whether it would be possible or appropriate to invite the Latvian authorities to come to Ireland and be briefed on the case by the gardaí in Ashbourne who are doing their absolute best to get justice for these two families? I ask that consideration be given to the issuing of such an invitation through the offices of the Department of Justice and Equality.
Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for his congratulations on the victory of Oulart-The Ballagh. Although it is not my local club, I have a personal interest in its fortunes because my nephew, Barry Kehoe, is the captain. I hope he and his team mates are victorious against Na Piarsaigh in February and go on to bring an all-Ireland title back to Wexford.
On behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, who is in Brussels this morning, I thank the Senator for raising this matter. The Garda authorities have informed the Minister that the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Anastasija, or Anna, Varslavane remains entirely focused within this jurisdiction. Should the need arise to engage with the Latvian law enforcement authorities in respect of the investigation, that will be advanced through Europol channels. Under mutual legal assistance provisions, a judicial authority in one state may seek the assistance of the authorities in another state in obtaining evidence required in the course of a criminal investigation of criminal proceedings. The Minister is informed by the Garda authorities that the missing persons bureau has been conducting a full review of its existing policies with a view to ensuring the force's policies and procedures are in line with international best practice and that missing person incidents are afforded the best possible policing response. The review is ongoing and includes a consultation process with partner agencies concerned with missing persons.
The third national Missing Persons Day was hosted by the Minister yesterday, 2 December 2015, at Farmleigh in Dublin. The inaugural day was held on 4 December 2013 and, since then, has been developed into an annual campaign with a number of objectives. It commemorates those who have gone missing and recognises the ongoing suffering of their families and friends. It also serves to raise public awareness of open or unsolved missing persons cases and provides a platform to highlight the support services available to people who have lost a loved one.
Last month, the Minister announced the commencement of DNA legislation allowing for the launch of a new state-of-the-art DNA database system. The database became operational on 20 November and is based in Forensic Science Ireland in the Phoenix Park. The new database will assist An Garda Síochána in finding and identifying missing or unknown people. A missing and unknown persons index will hold the DNA profiles developed from biological samples relating to missing persons, which come, for example, from their clothing. It will also hold profiles from their close blood relatives, with the consent of those relatives, who will have similar DNA. The DNA legislation also provides for the exchange of DNA profiles of missing or unknown persons with law enforcement authorities in other jurisdictions. The database will, therefore, facilitate searches for missing or unknown persons abroad as well as in Ireland.
The Senator asked about the possibly of representatives of the Latvian authorities being invited to Ireland to speak with gardaí about the ongoing investigation into this case. I will convey that request directly to the Minister, who will, in turn, pass it on to the Garda Commissioner. If any member of the public has information concerning the case, I encourage him or her to bring it to the Garda. It is very sad for any family to have a loved one missing.
James Heffernan (Social Democrats)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. I realise the Garda authorities are doing everything in their power to get to the bottom of this. Indeed, Ambassador Apals is quite pleased with their work on the case. However, the fact remains there are ruthless, violent and callous killers on the loose. The Maughans attended the Missing Persons Day event yesterday to which the Minister of State referred. I have met Joe and Nell and their lives are absolutely torn apart by this. This is the second child they have lost, one of William's siblings having died from meningitis. There have been ongoing efforts to harass and intimidate members of the Maughan family for raising the case. In fact, William's sister was forced out of her home by this criminal gang. Such activity is truly frightening and must not be tolerated in our society.
I welcome the introduction of the DNA database, which may help in solving this case. I join the Minister of State in appealing to anybody who has information to come forward. There are people who know what happened to William and Anastasija. I urge them to be brave and convey that information to the Garda. It could allow Joe and Nell to give their child a decent Christian burial. William's parents feel he and Anastasia are dead and their bodies have been disappeared. That adds to their trauma. Anybody who has information that will help in locating their bodies should come forward and help to ensure the Maughans are able to bury their son.