Shane O'Farrell's family has said there was "cover-up, corruption and collusion" in the investigation into the death of the 23-year-old in a hit and run.
The Government will not oppose a Sinn Féin motion calling for an inquiry into O'Farrell's death. Justice Minister Helen McEntee received Cabinet approval to refer a scoping report conducted into the circumstances of his death to the Oireachtas Justice Committee to consider its findings.
It comes as Shane’s mother Lucia O’Farrell told a gathering in Leinster House that her “smiling” son was killed by someone who should not have been on bail at the time.
Mr O’Farrell, 23, died while cycling near his home in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, on August 2 2011.
The driver of the car, Zigimantas Gridziuska, left the scene but later turned himself into Gardaí. It later transpired that prison sentences imposed on the Lithuanian national in 2010 and 2011 were never served and he remained on bail at the time of Mr O'Farrell's death due to “an administrative error”.
In October 2023, Minister McEntee told the Dáil that a scoping exercise conducted by Judge Gerard Haughton had not recommended an independent inquiry and the Government would not set one up. She acknowledged that this was “not what Shane’s family and those who speak in support of him will want”.
Sinn Féin brought a motion to the Dáil on Tuesday evening calling for a public inquiry. Fianna Fáil previously brought a similar motion calling for an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Mr O’Farrell’s death.
Minister McEntee received Cabinet approval not to oppose the motion calling for an inquiry into the death of Shane O'Farrell and to refer the scoping report by Judge Gerard Haughton to the Oireachtas Committee on Justice.
Ahead of the motion, Mr O’Farrell’s mother Lucia and sister Hannah spoke to a gathering in Leinster House as they argued that the scoping exercise did not adequately address questions the family had about the circumstances of Shane’s death.
Mrs O’Farrell said: “It is shocking to think that this man was allowed a free hand, a run about, and it didn’t matter. Our beautiful smiling Shane got a violent death. Let’s pretend it didn’t happen.”
The heartbroken mother said there was “cover-up, corruption and collusion to the very highest”.
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