An Garda Síochána
Dail Éireann — 2023-05-24
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Mary Lou McDonald (SF), Dublin Central

My colleague, Deputy Carthy, and I have repeatedly raised the long delays by this Government and the previous one to progress an inquiry into the death of Shane O'Farrell. It is nearly 12 years since Shane was killed by a man who should have been in prison and five years since the Dáil and Seanad adopted resolutions calling for an independent public inquiry into the actions of An Garda Síochána and other State agencies before and after Shane's death. The scoping exercise that was carried out is a mechanism devised by the previous Government to delay acting on both Chambers' call for an inquiry. It was established more than four years ago, yet the final report is still with the Minister, and has been for a year now. All those referred to within it were consulted with in detail prior to the submission of the report. The Tánaiste, Deputy Micheál Martin, previously said that the events leading up to and after Shane's death demonstrated shocking malpractice and dysfunction within the criminal justice system. It was the O'Farrell family who uncovered that malpractice, which has continued into recent times. These are matters of significant public interest and concern. Will the Taoiseach establish an inquiry as called for by both the Dáil and Seanad?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2023-05-24/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:51:57+00:00
Sitting date: 2023-05-24