Justice Minister to deliver public apology to family of hit-and-run victim killed by driver who should have been behind bars at time of tragedy
Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan is scheduled to take to his feet in the Dáil and publicly address the family of Shane O'Farrell, who was killed while cycling near his home in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, on 2 August 2011.
The 23-year-old was fatally injured by Zigimantas Gridziuska, a Lithuanian national who was on bail from at least five different courthouses at the time of the incident.
Gridziuska left the scene before later handing himself into gardaí after hiding his damaged car in bushes near his home, several kilometres away.
In March 2013, he pleaded guilty to failing to stop at the scene of the fatal collision, failing to report the accident to the authorities and driving a defective vehicle.
He never, however, served time for the fatal hit-and-run incident. In March 2013, he pleaded guilty to failing to stop at the scene of the fatal collision, failing to report the accident to the authorities and driving a defective vehicle.
The trial judge directed he be found not guilty of causing death by dangerous driving with Gridziuska being banned from the State for 10 years.
It emerged, however that Gridziuska ignored bail laws and court orders were not enforced with later inquiries also establishing how he received a six-month prison sentence in the year beforehand, which he never served due to a Courts Service administrative error.
The Monaghan man's parents Jim and Lucia and his four sisters held face to face talks with Mr O'Callaghan in March where renewed appeals were made for a public inquiry into his death.
Mr O'Callaghan, during his tenure an opposition TD, moved a motion in 2018 which sought an inquiry into the circumstances behind the tragedy.
Speaking in the Dáil at the time, Mr O'Callaghan said a subsequent scoping report which was led by retired judge Gerard Haughton and published in July 2023, would be sent to the Oireachtas' Justice Committee in order to consider its findings.
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In response to a call by Cavan-Monaghan Sinn Féin TD Matt Carthy for the rollout of a public inquiry, Mr O'Callaghan vowed to keep his 'mind open', insisting a 'definitive answer' to that request could not be provided at that juncture.
However, in a statement issued ahead of tomorrow's resumption of Dáil business, Shane's mother said Mr O'Callaghan would formally address the State's handling of Shane's death tomorrow.
"We note Minister O'Callaghan will make an apology to Shane on Tuesday,' she said.
"Shane's case raises serious issues about how the criminal justice system works and how it ought to work.
"We await the apology on Tuesday."
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