Inquiry into Limerick garda cases
Deputy Kelly raised repeated decisions not to prosecute gardaí in Limerick and asked why the area was targeted, calling for an inquiry. The Tánaiste agreed there should be further examination and inquiry, to be considered with the Justice Minister.
Yesterday, the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP, decided that three more gardaí in Limerick should not be prosecuted for fixed charge offences and perverting the course of justice. This follows on from five gardaí, one a retired superintendent, being found innocent in a recent court case. Two more gardaí had their suspensions lifted after five years, and one other garda is in mediation at the moment.
Sitting where the Tánaiste is sitting, the Taoiseach a few weeks back said there should be an inquiry into what happened in Limerick. Why was Limerick picked on? These 11 gardaí have had their lives destroyed because once you are suspended or charged as a garda, nothing is ever the same again. The morale of the force in the mid-west has collapsed. The prosecution of many criminal cases never went ahead. It is likely that these 11 gardaí will sue the State, and rightly so.
Given that it seems the whole house of cards for all of these cases revolved around retired Superintendent Eamon O’Neill’s collapsed prosecution, and everyone else being collateral damage, will the Tánaiste support an inquiry into what happened in Limerick, why this went ahead, and why those in other divisions and senior gardaí, who would also have been acting in a similar way, were not prosecuted like these 11 individuals? Will the Tánaiste support an inquiry in relation to this? I am not going to stop until one is launched.
Comment on this
I thank Deputy Kelly for raising this matter. I know he is somebody who has consistently highlighted this issue and his significant concerns in relation to it.
I do think there needs to be further examination and inquiry into these matters. The form that takes or how that is brought about is obviously a matter in the first instance for my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan. I have not had a chance to discuss this with him, but I do share the view of the Taoiseach, as previously articulated in this House. I can only imagine the lives put on hold and the stress, strain and family pressures that all of this has caused people. Those people deserve answers and an explanation.