The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr O'Donoghue, has denied suggestions that he met the parents of the murdered French woman, Ms Sophie Toscan du Plantier, to apologise to them.
Mr O'Donoghue also said that he replied in full on December 23rd to a request from the lawyers for the du Plantier family for mutual assistance under the terms of the International Rogatory Commission. Ms Toscan du Plantier was murdered close to her holiday home near Schull, west Cork, in December 1996.
However, Mr Alain Spilliaert, a lawyer for the family, said the Department of Justice had simply said it could give no information about the case. He also criticised the delays in bringing her killer to justice.
A spokesman for the Department of Justice said that Ms Toscan du Plantier's parents, Georges and Marguerite Bouniol, had expressed their satisfaction at the work being done by gardai during a meeting they had with Mr O'Donoghue before Christmas. They later confirmed this in a letter to the Minister in early January.
"He [the Minister] did meet the late Ms du Plantier's parents immediately before Christmas, but it was not to apologise," according to the spokesman.
"In fact the Minister met with her parents at their request to explain to them the nature of the Garda investigation into their daughter's death, that the crime was still under active investigation and that the difficulty in responding to the request essentially related to the different legal systems in Ireland and France."
Mr Spilliaert, however, believed Mr O'Donoghue had made an apology to them and said they were frustrated at delays in the murder case.
Mr Spilliaert said the family had discovered through the press that a man had been questioned about the murder this week, but was released without charge. The Garda has sent a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
"It is more than a year now. The fact that it is taking so long creates a lot of concern," he said.