Carthy family disappointed at outcome of case

Mr John Carthy's sister, Marie, said yesterday she was sorry the work of the Dβil Committee had been effectively stopped.

Mr John Carthy's sister, Marie, said yesterday she was sorry the work of the Dβil Committee had been effectively stopped.

"The Committee were doing very good work. There is still a lot to be done, a lot of questions that need to be answered. We want to thank the Committee for all the good work they did," she said.

Ms Carthy said her family was disappointed at the outcome of the High Court case taken by the garda∅. She said the family would like to see a public inquiry into her brother's death.

Her first cousin and neighbour Mr Thomas Walsh said he backed the decision by the committee to appeal the outcome to the Supreme Court. "I could not see what they [the committee] were doing wrong but then again I'm not a legal expert," he said.

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However, he expressed concern that the appeal of the matter to the Supreme Court will prolong the matter for the family, who hoped they would have had all the answers in relation to how Mr Carthy died by now so that there would be some closure on the issue.

"We would like to see an end coming to it. It's very stressful every time it's brought up. The inquest and the run up to the Dβil inquiry was very hard on the family.

"However there are a lot of questions we still want answered and the sooner the better for everybody," he said.

Meanwhile, the Government is expected to hasten the establishment of the independent Garda inspectorate and direct it to investigate the circumstances surrounding Mr Carthy's death and the allegations of Garda corruption in Donegal.

Legislation for the inspectorate is being drawn up. The inspectorate, with a proposed staff of 70 and headed by a judicial figure, will investigate the allegations against garda∅ and report to the Government. Reports will be made public. It is understood the Government would prefer that the investigation into matters in Abbeylara and Donegal be carried out by the inspectorate rather than by public inquiry, which is regarded as expensive and cumbersome.

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) yesterday called for a public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Carthy.

Garda representatives yesterday welcomed the High Court decision effectively to halt the inquiry by a Dβil committee into the killing. They called for a judicial inquiry or examination of the events.

The Garda Representative Association (GRA) and the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) supported the legal action. Yesterday both said they would like to see a" judicial inquiry" into the affair. The AGSI said: ""We are very happy with the judgment and we feel that it reflects the AGSI approach all along."