I raised this case on the Adjournment on 30 May last. I again draw the Minister's attention to it to support the appeal of the family of the late Dean Lyons to have the terms of reference of the tribunal of inquiry into alleged Garda wrongdoing in County Donegal extended to include this matter. The Minister has already stated he does not wish to extend the tribunal's remit to include any other matter and has also said he does not have any evidence to warrant the establishment of a public inquiry into the Dean Lyons case.
Despite this ongoing negative response, I put the following points to the Minister. Dean Lyons was charged with the horrific double murder of Sylvia Shields and Mary Callinan in March 1997. He made two statements of admission to the Garda while being interrogated, one of which was videotaped. We have been told repeatedly in the media, particularly by the respected security editor of The Irish Times, Jim Cusak, that information was contained in Dean Lyons's statement, made at the Bridewell Garda station, that could only have been known to the murderer and investigating gardaí. Mr. Cusak maintains that the report of an internal Garda inquiry confirms this. The question is, how did Dean Lyons, who had no involvement in the murders, include in his statement of admission details of which he could have no knowledge? The Minister will be aware that there have been other recent, high profile cases before the courts in which gardaí have been found to have interfered with statements made by accused persons. There have also been cases where persons have been convicted in the main on the basis of statements of admission.
In this context, I put it to the Minister that he must accept that he is has the responsibility to establish if either statement of admission attributed to the late Dean Lyons was in any way interfered with by the investigating gardaí. That is something he has, to date, refused steadfastly to do. If there were specific details of the brutal murders of two defenceless women in the Dean Lyons statement – details of which he can have had no knowledge – the gardaí who recorded it must be called to account. If this was an isolated case, it would be bad enough, but in the context of recent cases, the details of which have been widely publicised, I must call again on the Minister to have the facts brought into the open in order that the truth will be known. It is not sufficient or acceptable for him to hide behind the findings of the Garda Commissioner's own internal investigation, as he continues to do, even in reply to a parliamentary question of mine today. I ask him to appoint a member of the Judiciary to examine the statement of admission made by Dean Lyons and all other relevant documentation, including the reports of the internal Garda inquiries. All this could be done expeditiously at minimum financial cost. It is in the interests of public confidence in the Garda that it be done.
There is no doubt that if Dean Lyons had been a person of influence and wealth, action would have been taken long ago to establish why he was charged with one of the most appalling murders in the history of the State. There can be little doubt that Dean Lyons's case has been swept under the official carpet because he was a homeless heroin addict, living rough in the centre of Dublin. The questions raised must be answered and changes must be introduced in Garda interrogation procedures, but also into the manner in which Garda malpractice is investigated, to prevent such a miscarriage of justice happening again.
