114. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice if he will establish a public inquiry into the death of a person (details supplied), as mandated by the Dáil on two separate occasions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12757/25]

Sentiment score: -0.03

This is my first opportunity to present oral questions to the Minister for Justice. I wanted my first question to be in respect of the case of Shane O'Farrell, with which the Minister is very familiar. The Minister moved a motion on the case previously, which was adopted by the House, calling for the establishment of a public inquiry into the circumstances of the death of Shane and the actions of State agencies in respect of it. Will the Minister now establish that inquiry?

Sentiment score: 0.25

I agree entirely with the Minister that one person alone is responsible for the death of Shane O'Farrell, that being, Zigimantas Gridziuska. However, at the heart of this case is the indisputable fact that Gridziuska should have been imprisoned at the time of Shane's killing. He was in breach of multiple bail conditions set by multiple courts. He had been stopped on several occasions by gardaí when there was an arrestable offence clearly taking place, including just a short time before Shane's death. The Minister has indicated that the O'Farrell family want answers. It is in the public interest that we get to the heart of why this individual was not imprisoned at the time. How do we get those answers for the O'Farrells? It is my belief that the only way those answers will be got is through an independent public inquiry. Does the Minister believe that there is scope or capacity within the justice committee to actually get those answers? I would contend strongly that there is not. If the Minister shares this view, then he should do the honourable thing and not delay this process any longer and establish the public inquiry that is required.

Sentiment score: 0.05

There are two distinct elements here. One is the recommendations of the scoping exercise report. I agree that we should look at all of those and perhaps there is a role for the justice committee in deliberating on whether those are achievable. Every recommendation ultimately comes down to whether the Minister or another Minister decides to accept them. One of the recommendations is that there is no scope for a public inquiry. I fundamentally disagree with that recommendation. Just like any recommendation in any report, it can be discounted by the Minister if there is a just reason to do so. In my view, there is very just reason to ignore that recommendation and to pursue the democratic decision of the Dáil and establish the inquiry. If the Minister decides to proceed with what I consider to be another stumbling block by reverting this issue to the justice committee, will he instruct his Department and An Garda Síochána to provide the justice committee with any documentation it seeks as part of its work in following up on any examination of this case and the report?

Sentiment score: 0.13

116. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice the actions he will take to address the fact that the suspects for 40,348 crimes carried out in 2024 were on bail; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12758/25]

Sentiment score: 0.09

Many people were shocked - I certainly was - at the reply I received from the Minister that revealed that known suspects in 40,348 crimes carried out in 2024 were on bail. I submitted the question on the back of a number of high-profile instances where habitual offenders, including people who had repeatedly breached bail conditions, were subsequently convicted of very serious crimes. Will the Minister outline what actions he will take to address this very serious issue?

Sentiment score: -0.30

To be clear, no one is suggesting that every bail application end with a remand order. Is the Minister satisfied with the extent to which adherence with bail conditions is monitored and enforced? I received another reply to a parliamentary question from the Minister on 25 February that revealed that, although people were suspected of committing more than 40,000 crimes in 2024 while on bail, there were only 4,146 arrests that year where there was reasonable cause to suspect the person was in breach of a bail condition. Does the Minister agree that the discrepancy between the number of crimes being committed while suspects are on bail and the number of arrests for breaches of bail conditions suggests there is a significant problem with monitoring bail conditions and holding those on bail to account for breaches of those bail conditions?

Sentiment score: -0.10

I will go back to the Minister's original response where he repeated figures included in the initial reply to the parliamentary question in respect of the most common offence types carried out by offenders who were on bail. He mentioned public order, drunkenness, theft from shops, possession of drugs for personal use and criminal damage, which accounted for 59%. Will the Minister outline to the Dáil the detail of the categories that make up the other 41% of crimes for which no figures were given in that reply? The number of crimes committed while suspects were on bail went up from 26,000 in 2016 to 40,000 in 2024. My difficulty with the Minister's answer regarding the progress that has been made through the courts in recent times is that it suggests that he is not committing to reviewing the operation of the bail laws, including changes to them that might be necessary. Does the Minister agree that a real problem results from the fact that we simply do not have enough gardaí in our communities to be able to monitor all these things, particularly to monitor those who have been released on bail?

Sentiment score: -0.16