I understand that the Minister of State has expressed his regret that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform is not here but when dealing with such a serious issue, I expected the Minister to listen to what we have to say when we ask for a ministerial inquiry into this incident. I acknowledge the presence of Deputies Lynch, O'Flynn and Dan Wallace, a demonstration of the importance attached to this serious incident. I wish to share a minute of my time with Deputy Lynch.
On 27 February 2002, I raised on the Adjournment the matter of a tragic incident that occurred on 26 March 2001. Two parents were woken from their sleep and by two gardaí and told they would have travel to the South Infirmary Hospital in Cork because their son, Adrian, had been involved in an accident. Unfortunately, before they left home to go the hospital, they received further information that their son had died as a result of an incident that had occurred inside and outside a night club in Cork.
The following day two detectives arrived at the Moynihan home and told the family that the gardaí had taken two videos of evidence from the club where the tragic incident had occurred and had taken the names of 200 people who were in the club. The gardaí said they would contact the family again as soon as they had more information.
On Saturday, 31 May, the family read in the Irish Examiner that three men had been arrested by the gardaí in connection with the incident. Weeks went by and the family inquired as to how the case was progressing. They were told by a senior Garda source that the Garda was still taking statements and that the best thing for the family to do was to leave it to the Garda and not to talk about the case or refer to the three people who had been arrested as it might jeopardise the case. The family agreed to do this.
Months passed and the family was telephoned to say the investigation was complete and that a file had been sent to the DPP along with 70 statements and two tapes of video evidence. The family had to wait until January 2002 when a garda arrived at the family home to tell Mrs. Moynihan, mother of the deceased young man, that the decision of the DPP was that there would be no prosecution on the grounds of insufficient evidence.
An inquest was held on Adrian Moynihan's death and was adjourned when the coroner requested the gardaí to return the file to the DPP for further consideration. This was done but, unfortunately, the DPP returned the file with a decision not to prosecute. The inquest has since been reconvened and on 6 May 2003 returned a verdict of misadventure. If time permitted I would repeat the six questions I posed on 27 February 2002, but I want to allow Deputy Lynch to contribute. I would appreciate if the Minister would address those questions.
This case is an example of what is happening in our cities and towns. A man is killed and the offence goes unsolved and those involved go unprosecuted. Why is a case such as this, a most serious case, shrouded in mystery and why is the family being kept in the dark? A "Prime Time" programme on RTE showed the incident where the young man was dragged alive from a Cork laneway into a nightclub and left that nightclub dead.
I ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to speak with the Attorney General and to ask or direct him to get an explanation from the DPP as the Attorney General is empowered to do as to why there is no prosecution. The DPP may be independent but there should be accountability. I ask also that the Minister carry out a full inquiry into this tragic event. Andrew Moynihan, the father of the late Adrian Moynihan, is on hunger strike on Kildare Street outside the gates of Leinster House and has stated he will remain there until such time as a full inquiry takes place into the circumstances of his son's death and the reason no action has been taken.
