The MacLochlainn Commission of Investigation

The MacLochlainn Commission was established in August 2014 to undertake a thorough investigation of the fatal shooting of Mr Ronan MacLochlainn by members of the Garda Síochána in the course of an attempted armed robbery of a Securicor van in Co. Wicklow in May 1998.

The Commission of Investigation arose from a case taken by Mr MacLochlainn's partner to the European Court of Human Rights concerning an alleged breach by Ireland of the European Convention on Human Rights owing to a failure to conduct an independent investigation into the shooting. The Court struck out the case on foot of an undertaking by Ireland to establish a Commission of Investigation.

See the Order establishing the Commission, SI No 346 of 2014.

The Minister appointed Ms Mary Rose Gearty, SC, as sole member of the Commission. The Minister also set the Terms of Reference for the Commission which were published in Iris Oifigiuil on 5 August 2014 (page 1173).

The Commission was originally required to report to the Minister within 6 months of establishment. At the request of the Sole Member, this timeframe was extended to 31 May 2016. Earlier extensions to 20 April 2015 and to 20 November 2015 were also granted by the Minister at the request of the Sole Member. The requests from the Commission to extend its reporting period are set out in the second, third and fourth interim reports.

On 6 May 2016 an application was brought under Section 35(1)(b) of the Commission of Investigation Act 2004 to the High Court seeking a direction to amend the Commission's draft final report. The High Court rejected the application on all grounds on 16 February 2018, with the order of the Court being perfected in June 2018.

The Commissions of Investigation Act 2004 requires publication of any amendment to the terms of reference of a commission of investigation. The Act also requires publication of a statement relating to an increase in the estimated costs to be incurred by the commission in conducting the investigation and preparing its reports. The statement must also set out the time frame for submission of the commission’s final report.

Links to the relevant notices relating to the MacLochlainn Commission of Investigation which have been published in Iris Oifigiúil are below:

The Commission presented its report to the Minister on 28 June 2018. Having carried out the necessary consultations to ensure that the publication of the report would not prejudice any prosecutions pending or in progress, the Minister published the report on 20 December 2018.

The Commission’s final report is available here: