Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 November 2018
139. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the conviction of persons (details supplied) for the murder of a person; if he will lobby the Criminal Cases Review Commission for the case to be considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49397/18]
View answerI am aware of the case to which the Deputy refers. Officials from my Department, based both in Dublin and Belfast, monitor this case as part of their wider engagement with the relevant authorities in Northern Ireland on justice and prison matters. The persons concerned were convicted of murder by joint enterprise at their trial in 2012. Their appeal against their convictions failed at the Belfast High Court in 2012 and in 2015 the Supreme Court in London refused them permission to mount a further appeal.
As the Deputy is aware, the case is now being looked at by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, an independent public body which is responsible for reviewing possible miscarriages of justice in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. At this stage in the proceedings it would be inappropriate for me to comment further. It is important that we respect the legal process and allow time for it to reach its conclusion.
My officials in the Irish Secretariat in Belfast regularly engage with the NI Department of Justice, the Northern Ireland Office, the Northern Ireland Prison Service, the Criminal Justice Inspectorate, the NI Police Ombudsman, and NI Prisoner Ombudsman. In addition, at the recent British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, Minister Flanagan and I engaged with the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, David Lidington and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Karen Bradley, on matters related to Security Cooperation.
Officials will continue to monitor developments in this case and the Government will take action as appropriate. In the absence of a devolved Assembly, it is regrettable that we do not have a locally elected and accountable Justice Minister with whom we could engage with on matters such as this but we will continue our efforts in this regard.
