Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 October 2021
512. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice the details of any inquiry into the allegations made by an organisation in its mission to Ireland in 1977 which specifically references the case of a person (details supplied). [47615/21]
View answer513. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice the details of any inquiry into the findings of oppression against the State by the Court of Criminal Appeal in 1980 which led to the successful appeal by persons (details supplied) of their sentences in 1980. [47616/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 512 and 513 together.
The report referred to by the Deputy related to allegations of maltreatment of persons in custody over 40 years ago. My predecessor as Minister for Justice, Mr Gerry Collins, responded to these allegations at the time and these matters were debated in the House. The debates can be viewed on the Oireachtas website. Similarly, the report of the Ó Briain Committee, which considered the matter of serious allegations of ill-treatment of persons in Garda custody including the Amnesty report, and made a series of recommendations, is published on the Oireachtas website.
I am informed that the Court of Appeal judgment referenced by the Deputy decided to exclude the admissibility of evidence obtained from persons in custody. The Court ruled that the court of trial in the case, having regard to subsequent case law in the Supreme Court, could not be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the statements made by the applicant were voluntarily made or that the manner in which they were made satisfied the basic requirements of fairness, and therefore granted the appeal.
As I previously advised the Deputy, the events in question culminated in the overturning of the convictions of two persons in 1980 and a pardon for an individual in 1992, as well as compensation in the cases.
Finally, the Deputy will be aware that the Criminal Justice Act 1984 was subsequently introduced to regulate the treatment of persons in Garda custody.
