Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 March 2025
192. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice if he will establish a historical investigations unit to allow for independent police investigations into unresolved deaths and incidents of torture or ill-treatment, as proposed by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and the Committee on the Administration of Justice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12803/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Deputy will be aware that the Historical Investigation Unit structure, as proposed in the Stormont House Agreement, was specific to Northern Ireland. In this jurisdiction the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, led by the Assistant Commissioner for Organised and Serious Crime, holds a national investigative remit and is specialised in the area of major crime investigation. It undertakes and supports investigations on the direction of the Garda Commissioner.
More generally, the expertise of the Serious Crime Review Team (SCRT), which was established in 2007 to provide for independent review of historical investigations, including homicides, is available where appropriate. The purpose of a review conducted by the SCRT is to assist the Senior Investigating Officer with the criminal investigation. These reviews constitute an independent examination of evidence and other material, gathered during investigation and to ensure that it conforms to approved standards; that the investigation has been thorough, conducted with integrity and objectivity; and to identify further investigative opportunities. The remit of the SCRT is broad and would include reviews of troubles-related cases, where appropriate.
I am assured that, in circumstances where historic offences have not been resolved, the investigations remain open and the Garda Authorities will, and do, follow up fully, on any new evidence or information that becomes available to them, whether that comes from the public, from other police services or from their own investigations.
I note that the legacy mechanisms in Northern Ireland referenced in the report mentioned by the Deputy such as the PSNI Legacy Investigations Branch and Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman legacy investigations have been closed down by the UK Legacy Act. I can assure the Deputy that the Government is determined to fulfil our shared responsibilities as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement. The Programme for Government explicitly states our commitment to play our full part in legacy processes and to address the legacy of the conflict in this jurisdiction. The Taoiseach, Tánaiste and I continue to engage with the British Government in this regard.
Supplementary Material
The ICCL and CAJ recently published a report following their roundtable event, Policing for Peace and the Commitment to “Repeal and Replace” the Northern Ireland Legacy Act: How should the Irish government deal with legacy investigations in its jurisdiction?. The roundtable considered ways to address conflict-related deaths and other historic human rights violations by State actors, including An Garda Síochána, and abuses by non-State actors in related cases in the Republic. Various cases are referenced:
• Sallins
• Dublin Monaghan bombings
• The hooded men case before the ECHR.
• Shane O’Farrell.
• Una Lynskey and Martin Kerrigan.
• Dennis Donaldson
• Magdalene laundries/ mother and baby homes
• Kingsmill inquest
ICCL and CAJ propose that new legacy mechanisms be established here to investigate violations of Articles 2 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). This would include instances of death, torture and other forms of ill-treatment connected to An Garda Síochána and other State agencies within a defined timeframe, in line with Ireland’s legal obligations. Three mechanisms are proposed for consideration by the Irish government. One is the HIU, which is at question in the PQ. The HIU excerpt for the report is below.
HIU proposal
Establish an independent, time-bound Historical Investigations Unit (HIU) in the South, similar to the one provided for in the North in the Stormont House Agreement (SHA) but never implemented. A HIU would allow for effective and independent police investigations into unresolved deaths and incidents of torture or ill-treatment, based on the procedural obligations in Articles 2 and 3 of the ECHR. It would focus on assigning criminal responsibility for individual cases. A timeframe of 1968 to the 2020s is suggested to allow a HIU to investigate unresolved cases, beginning with violations that emerged during the period of the conflict. More recent and any future allegations of Garda misconduct will be investigated by the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) and the soon to be established Office of the Police Ombudsman, provided complaints are made within one year of an alleged incident.
While there have been ad-hoc “historical” or “cold case” reviews of cases led by An Garda Síochána in the past, no dedicated independent processes have ever been established. GSOC has not been empowered to effectively investigate historic cases of alleged police misconduct. There is therefore no established pool of cases for a HIU to draw on. What is clear is that there is a need to examine a range of different types of miscarriages of justice and ill-treatment in custody in order to comply with the ECHR, including cases which relate to the Troubles (e.g., the Dublin and Monaghan bombings and the Sallins train robbery) and ones which do not (e.g., the Shane O’Farrell case).
Based on the SHA model, legislation could establish a HIU to address individual outstanding cases of misconduct and criminal offences by both State and non-State actors. Such investigations must establish the facts to an ECHR-compatible standard, identify those responsible and facilitate prosecution if required. The decision to prosecute would be confined to the Director of Public Prosecutions as Gardaí do not have powers to prosecute in such serious cases. In the meantime, any internal investigations within An Garda Síochána such as cold-case reviews of historic cases should cease.
Crucially, a HIU would require the necessary policing powers to fulfil an investigative mandate including powers to compel disclosure of information, and it should be trauma-informed, victim-focused and gender[1]responsive. It could be overseen by the Policing and Community Safety Authority. Statutory cooperation with the British government would be an absolute necessity for its success. The HIU could aim to complete its work within a relatively short timeframe (e.g., five years) to ensure timely investigations, although this could be extended in the event of outstanding cases.
