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Dáil
‹ Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Director of Public Prosecutions Office.

Reasons for non-prosecution decisions

Summary

Taylor asked whether families distressed by a decision not to prosecute could receive an explanation, describing it as a quasi-judicial decision.

Will the Taoiseach have another look at this question of giving reasons? Take a case such as happened in my constituency, and I am sure has happened elsewhere, where a person has died or been killed in a set of circumstances, papers are sent in to the Office of the DPP and he examines them and makes up his mind on whether to prosecute. That decision he makes on whether to prosecute, will the Taoiseach not agree, is a kind of judicial decision in itself, irrespective of what may transpire afterwards.

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Thomas J. Fitzpatrick An Ceann Comhairle Fine Gael

A question.

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Being a kind of quasi judicial decision, where a decision was taken not to prosecute, the members of the family of that person who died were, understandably, very distressed and could get no explanation, answer or reason. In special circumstances of that nature, could some scheme be devised to meet the feelings of the family in such a position?

I have one final supplementary question on a slightly different point. Will the Taoiseach agree to review the question of the decentralisation of the office to some extent? Would it be considered that one centralised DPP Office to serve the entire country with communications coming from west, north, south and east on perhaps relatively minor matters on occasion might not be the best way of doing it——

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