The family of hit-and-run victim Shane O’Farrell say they hope a formal State apology made to them on Tuesday was a “watershed moment” for the administration of justice in Ireland.
Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan apologised in the Dáil to the family of the law graduate who was killed, while cycling near his Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan home, by a repeat offender out on bail.
Mr O’Callaghan has appointed a senior counsel to review the bail laws in memory of 23-year-old Shane O’Farrell and the Government is to establish a legal scholarship at UCD.
Road traffic legislation in place since 1962 will also be amended to allow a jury convict a person of a lesser offence of careless driving where a person is acquitted for the more serious offence of dangerous driving.
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The O’Farrell family had called for a full public inquiry into his death in August 2011 when he was struck by Zigimantas Gridziuska, who should have been in prison at the time.
Mr O’Callaghan signalled however that instead of an inquiry, he has asked senior counsel Lorcan Staines to assess bail laws and identify any necessary changes that need to be made.
“This is not a report that needs to establish facts since those facts are very readily apparent from the charges laid against Garidziuska in the year leading up to the death of Shane O’Farrell.”
The minister said the report would not result in people having to invoke their right and “lawyering up in a process that would inevitably take years. More importantly, it will not need to establish any facts since the relevant facts are already known.”
During a Dáil debate, Sinn Féin said there was evidence Gridziuska was a “garda informer” and had been protected “above all else”.
Mr O’Farrell’s family were in the distinguished visitors’ gallery for the apology and debate.
Mr O’Farrell’s parents, Lucia and Jim, and his four sisters – Hannah, Pia, Gemma, and Aimee – spoke to the media outside Leinster House following the statements in the Dáil.
They indicated that while there were still questions that remained to be answered, it was their view that a public inquiry, such as a Commission for Investigation, was not necessary.
“Public servants should be there to protect us and act in our best interests,” said Gemma O’Farrell. “The State apology is a recognition by the Government, on behalf of all of its institutions, that serious failings occurred. It’s a recognition of institutional failure, not just individual wrongdoing.”
Her mother, Lucia O’Farrell said the apology was welcome and very significant albeit late, coming 14 years after Shane’s death.
“Questions do remain for me and for our family ... I think those answers need to be given to us. It doesn’t have to be in the public inquiry. It can be in the Gsoc (Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission) reports that have been refused to us,” she said.
“Our child lies in the grave. We should be given the answers. It doesn’t have to be through a long process of an inquiry.”
Shane’s sister, Hannah said that when the family asked difficult questions the instinct of the Department of Justice was to deflect and not be transparent or forthcoming with information.
“That’s the same response that we felt has been endemic through the other State bodies that administer justice in this country,” she said.
Hannah said there was “a message of hope here from us that victims should persevere if they have unanswered questions and if they’re being stonewalled by those Departments and agencies.
“I think that individuals behind the departmental agencies should look at themselves and should consider how they’re treating families and the level of respect.”
Speaking in the Dáil, Mr O’Callaghan said “it is incumbent on me, as Minister for Justice to apologise to Shane O’Farrell and the O’Farrell family for the fact that the criminal justice system did not protect him as it should have.
“I do so apologise.”
Mr O’Callaghan said “the loss resulting from his death was incalculable and for the family, interminable”.
The State’s first failing related to documentation for an appeal by Gridziuska, which was not recorded, the Minister said.
He added that the second failure happened when the offender, who committed further offences, was not brought before Judge John O’Hagan, who had granted bail on strict conditions, nor was the judge informed of those offences.
If the convictions had been brought to the judge’s attention, Gridziuska would probably have been jailed.
Gridziuska, a Lithuanian national, left the scene of the fatal crash but the following day handed himself in to gardaí. He had more than 40 convictions at the time, including some in Northern Ireland.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said there were credible allegations that he operated as a garda informant. The party’s justice spokesman Matt Carthy said “many people, myself included, believe that Zigimantas Gridziuska was an informer, that he was permitted to wreak havoc because gardaí prioritised the protection of their source above all else”.
Mr Carthy became emotional as he described Mr O’Farrell’s mother Lucia as a force of nature whose efforts had resulted in this apology, adding that “you’ve done Shane proud”.
Labour leader Ivana Bacik said the apology was “welcome and overdue”, adding that “it is an important day”.
Fianna Fáil TD John McGuinness, a long-time campaigner on the case, paid tribute to the minister who “despite obstacles”, had shown “leadership qualities that others should take note of”, to “ensure that justice is done”.
Social Democrats acting leader Cian O’Callaghan said the family’s trauma, grief and heartache had been compounded by the State’s response. He called for all reports on the Monaghan man’s death to be published, as he noted that the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission had had the case for seven years.
