Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

86. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if the Garda Commissioner has provided her with any update on the serious review crime team review of the murder of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8955/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The case to which the Deputy refers was a callous and unjustified act of violence carried out in the course of a robbery. I sympathise with the tragic bereavement that the family of the victim suffered. Indeed, this crime was an attack on the State itself.

I am informed by the Garda Authorities that the Serious Crime Review Team at the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation has carried out a comprehensive review of this case. That review involved a thorough examination of all available material and of the original investigation into the circumstances surrounding the murder. The review also sought to identify any new potential investigative opportunities and/or sources of information which may have come to light in the years since the original investigation. I am informed that the findings of the Serious Crime Review Team indicate that the murder was comprehensively investigated at the time and that no new evidence that might open further avenues of investigation has been presented. A number of persons faced prosecution in respect of this murder but none was convicted and it remains a matter of regret that it has not proved possible to bring anyone to justice in this case.

I would urge that if any person is in the possession of new or previously undisclosed information that might advance the investigation of this crime, it should be brought immediately to the attention of An Garda Síochána in order that it may be properly investigated.

I am aware that family members of the victim have met and corresponded with the Serious Crime Review Team on several occasions in the course of its work on this case. The Deputy will wish to be aware that I am in ongoing correspondence with a family member in respect of issues raised with regard to the case and I will correspond further directly with that family member in this matter in the near future.