The murder of Detective Garda Colm Horkan in 2020 shocked the nation. In Mayo it brought back very painful memories of when two gardaí from Mayo were killed in the line of duty - John Morley and Henry Byrne - in 1980. In recent days the family has come forward and called for a full independent public inquiry into the circumstances of Colm's death and the role the holster may have played. I have spoken to the family, whose request for transparency into what happened that night has been ignored. Today the Irish Examiner reports that Garda management was aware of the holster as far back as a year before the death of Colm Horkan. Does the Taoiseach support the family's call for a full, independent public inquiry?

A horrendous trauma was visited upon the Horkan family following the murder of Colm Horkan. We should not lose sight of the fact that a person has been convicted of that murder. We should not make assertions yet that there may be other factors involved. It was referred to Fiosrú but my understanding is that it is not being actively engaged with. The Minister is anxious to be as responsive as possible to the Horkan family but we are not convinced that a public inquiry is necessarily the way to provide transparency, information and the facts to the family, to which they are entitled.

I will talk to the Minister in respect of this but the Minister is engaging with it.