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Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission Investigations

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 April 2018

Tuesday, 24 April 2018

Questions (274)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

274. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality to outline the extent to which the circumstances surrounding the death of the son of a person (details supplied) have been investigated in full; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17624/18]

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Written answers

The Deputy's question refers to the tragic death of a young man in a road traffic incident. Certain of the circumstances surrounding his death have been subject to a number of investigations and reviews by various state bodies such as An Garda Síochána and the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission. The tragedy was also subject to independent scrutiny by the Independent Review Mechanism established by my predecessor as Minister for Justice and Equality.

The initial investigation conducted by An Garda Síochána led to the DPP successfully prosecuting a case against the driver of the car involved and resulted in a conviction.

Complaints from the family were also referred to the Independent Review Mechanism (IRM) established in May 2014 as a means to independently review certain allegations of Garda misconduct, or inadequacies in the investigation of certain allegations, which had been made to the Minister for Justice and Equality or the Taoiseach or other public representatives. A panel consisting of two Senior and five Junior Counsel was established for the purpose, all selected on the basis of their experience of the criminal justice system. Every case under the Independent Review Mechanism was reviewed by independent counsel, who made an objective recommendation. It was open to counsel to make any recommendation that they saw fit, including, if they considered it appropriate, some form of independent inquiry. Following the review of this case, counsel made a recommendation that the Minister should take no further action in this case and were of the view that the appropriate forum for these matters was GSOC. The Minister accepted the recommendation put forward by Counsel and informed the family accordingly in December 2016.

A number of complaints made to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission by members of the family are the subject of investigation by GSOC.

I can inform the Deputy that GSOC has now completed its criminal investigation in the case and has provided a copy of the report to the family, the Garda Commissioner and to me as Minister. It is understood that GSOC will publish this report shortly.

As previously stated, once all the GSOC investigations are completed, the question of whether further action, if any, is to be taken will be fully considered.

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