The parents of schoolboy Brian Rossiter have expressed disappointment over the terms of reference for the statutory inquiry set up by the Minister for Justice.
Pat and Siobhan Rossiter said they didn't believe the inquiry, as established, will enable senior counsel Hugh Hartnett to establish whether their 14-year-old son, Brian, died as a result of injuries sustained while in Garda custody in Clonmel on the night of September 10/11th, 2002.
"We understood that the purpose of this inquiry was to get to the bottom of Brian's death. The nub of the issue is that Brian, a 14-year-old boy, was arrested and detained in what witnesses have said were violent circumstances. . . . The primary question for any inquiry should clearly be whether he died as a result of injuries sustained while in custody. As established, this inquiry is not allowed to ask that question. This makes no sense," they said.
The Rossiters further questioned the appropriateness of establishing an inquiry under Section 12 of the Dublin Police Act 1924 as this effectively means the inquiry is "in essence a Garda Síochána disciplinary forum".
In a statement issued on their behalf by solicitor Cian O'Carroll, the Rossiters said this point is borne out by terms of reference which the Rossiters say constitute a set of six allegations against six named gardaí and one retired garda superintendent. "This creates the bizarre prospect that those seven people could - quite lawfully - refuse to give evidence on the basis that to do so might self-incriminate. Where then for the inquiry?" asked the Rossiters.
They argue that the senior officer responsible for Clonmel Garda station on the night of Brian's arrest on September 10th, 2002, is now retired and as such, the Dublin Police Act 1924 cannot apply to him. They also said there is no clear basis for the selection of the seven officers named in the schedule of the warrant and say there were several other gardaí who were on duty in the station that night who have not been included.
"So how were these seven gardaí selected and by whom? And what of the others?" the statement asks, adding that the inquiry effectively "offers silence to those whose actions it purports to inquire into" and "is completely impotent against the senior ranking garda in charge of Clonmel Garda station on the night".
However a Department of Justice spokesman strongly rejected the Rossiters' comments and said the terms of reference of the inquiry ensure it will be "a fully comprehensive inquiry which will provide the answers".
"Questions as to the cause of death of Brian Rossiter are central to the issue as to whether he was assaulted while in Garda custody and whether his death was attributable to assault or neglect by members of An Garda Síochána," said the spokesman.
He also said it was incorrect to say that gardaí can lawfully refuse to give evidence.
The Attorney General had advised that the retired garda superintendent is covered by the inquiry and that the inquiry was not limited to just the named gardaí.