merrion street

The Government today approved the proposal of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Mr. Alan Shatter T.D., to put motions to the Houses of the Oireachtas to further amend the terms of reference of the Smithwick Tribunal of Inquiry, in line with the request from the Tribunal Chairman conveyed to the Clerk of Dáil Éireann on 17 May 2012.

The Minister said: “The Government is cognisant of the need to facilitate the Tribunal in fulfilling its mandate as fully and expeditiously as possible. The proposal which is to be put to the Dáil and Seanad is consistent with the commitment given when the Tribunal’s terms of reference were amended last year. I welcome the progress which the Tribunal has been making since public hearings began in June 2011.”

The Government will propose appropriate motions in both Houses of the Oireachtas tomorrow (Wednesday 23 May 2012).

22 May 2012

ENDS

Note for Editors

The Smithwick Tribunal of Inquiry was established in 2005 to inquire into suggestions of collusion by Gardaí or other state employees in the murders of RUC Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and RUC Superintendent Robert Buchanan by the Provisional IRA near Jonesborough, Co. Armagh in 1989.

The Tribunal conducted its inquiries in private from early-2006 and began its public hearings in June 2011. These hearings are ongoing.

The amendment by the Oireachtas of the Tribunal’s terms of reference in November 2011 required it to submit an interim report by 9 March 2012 and to complete its inquiries and to present it final report by 31 May 2012. This was consistent with the timeframe then indicated to the Clerk of the Dáil by the Tribunal. The Chairman has now requested an additional five months, to 31 October 2012, in which to conclude the Tribunals’ work.