Vol. 504 No. 2
30 Mr. Higgins (Mayo) asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he has satis fied himself that a court case (details supplied) at Castlerea District Court, County Roscommon, in January 1999 was properly listed; if he has further satisfied himself that the gardaí were properly notified of the case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11496/99]
I received the Deputy's question on 29 April 1999. I immediately made the usual inquiries of the court locally and received certain information in reply, by fax, that day. Within the past few hours I have received further information which appears to contradict the earlier version. In light of this I have no option but to initiate immediate inquiries and I am not satisfied I can give the Deputy accurate information now. I have made it clear that this matter is to be dealt with as a matter of urgency and I will make a report to the House on the matter as soon as possible.
(Mayo): I thank the Minister for his reply and am glad he is taking this matter seriously. As he knows, the case arose from an assault with a bottle by the son of a then-serving member of the Garda Síochána on a bouncer, who sustained considerable injuries. The case was adjourned until the February sitting of Castlerea District Court but was called in January, although it should not have been called and was not on the original list. When the Garda inspector objected on the grounds that the case would not and could not be heard—
The Deputy seems to be supplying information. The purpose of Question Time is to seek information.
(Mayo): It is extremely important that the matter be dealt with expeditiously. Given that the gardaí received no indication that this case was coming up and objected to it being heard four weeks prematurely, will the Minister give an assurance that the matter will be referred to the Chief Justice to be dealt with as decisively and as early as possible?
I thank Deputy Higgins for raising the matter. As the DPP was represented in the court by the gardaí I have asked the Garda authorities to conduct an inquiry into the events surrounding the listing of this case for January in the District Court and they have agreed to do so. I have also asked my Department to carry out an immediate investigation into the role of the District Court office in the listing of the case. The DPP, the Chief Justice and the Attorney General have also been informed. The President of the District Court is out of the country at present but I will inform him immediately on his return.
(Mayo): Is the Minister satisfied with the accuracy of the version of events given him by the District Court clerk on 29 April 1999? Have the members of the gardaí, namely, Super intendent Roche and Inspector Gallagher, been interviewed to date in the course of the investigations into this case?
As I stated at the outset, I received the Deputy's question on 29 April 1999 and immediately made the usual inquiries. I received certain information by fax that day but within the past few hours I received further information which appears to contradict the earlier version. In those circumstances an urgent inquiry is under way and I will report back to the House the moment it is complete.
