The sudden loss of Shane O'Farrell at such a young age, with his whole life ahead of him, is a desperate tragedy for all those who knew and loved him and one which will always be an immense source of grief in their lives.
The report of Judge Gerard Haughton arising from the Scoping Exercise into the circumstances surrounding the death of Shane O'Farrell, aged 23 in August 2011 was published on 3rd July 2023.
The Judge was appointed by my predecessor in 2019 to carry out a Scoping Exercise in light of the public controversy surrounding the circumstances of Mr O'Farrell's tragic death. Specifically, the purpose of the exercise was to advise the Minister as to whether any further investigation or inquiry beyond those already carried out was necessary and, if so, to advise on the form of such investigation or inquiry and its terms of reference.
The work of the Judge has resulted in a thorough and comprehensive 416 page report.
The main conclusion in the report is that there are no circumstances surrounding the death of Mr O'Farrell which warrant further investigation or inquiry beyond those already carried out. The report also finds that no inquiry is necessary into the systems and procedures for the sharing of information between An Garda Síochána, the Courts Service and other relevant State bodies operating at the time of Mr. O'Farrell's death.
The Judge makes a number of important recommendations on suspended sentences legislation, certain aspects in relation to dangerous driving (Road Traffic Act 1961), specific aspects of the law relating to inquests and the role of the Gardaí, and an audit of relevant Courts Service accounts by the Courts Service Audit and Risk Committee (in relation to the misplacing of Appeal papers by the Court Service).
All of the recommendations made by the Judge have been carefully considered by the relevant state bodies and agencies and implementation of those recommendations has commenced, where appropriate.
The Report was considered by the Attorney General, whose advice was sought prior to publication. The report was then brought to Government in April 2023 and published in July 2023.
As the Deputy is aware, time was provided to members of both Houses to make statements on Judge Haughton's Final Report on 17th October 2023.
As the Deputy will recall, during statements on a Private Members motion seeking the establishment of an independent public inquiry in the Dáil last July, I undertook to write to the Justice Committee to ask it to look at the recommendations and conclusions of the Scoping report. Rather than write to the Committee immediately before the General Election was called, I decided to defer sending the letter until the next Justice Committee has been established.
