The family of Mr John Carthy, who was shot dead by members of the Garda Emergency Response Unit after a siege at Abbeylara, Co Longford, last year, has again called for a judicial inquiry into his death.
The plea followed the forced adjournment yesterday of an Oireachtas sub-committee inquiry into the incident.
Ms Marie Carthy, a sister of Mr Carthy, said her family was frustrated and disappointed at the 30-day adjournment. "It is hoped any adjournment will be for the shortest possible period," she said.
"The sub-committee was doing good work and already has raised very serious issues about the manner in which the Garda operation had been carried out. The family accepts the gardai have a right to have their objection ruled upon. We are, however, angry that this application was not made before the committee commenced hearing evidence.
"The stop-start nature of the proceedings has added unnecessary strain on the family. There is a perception that the gardai are unwilling to answer the questions about what happened to John in Abbeylara. We share that perception.
"On the opening day the gardai called for a judicial inquiry. The Minister for Justice should accede to their request, which would overcome the difficulties and allow the questions to be answered," she said.
Others, including the Garda Representative Association (GRA), the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) backed her call for an independent judicial inquiry.
The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, said he had never ruled out such an inquiry.
In a joint statement, the GRA and AGSI said the 30-day adjournment should be used by the Government to establish the judicial inquiry.
They also said that despite assurances from the sub-committee that mechanisms were in place to mask the identities of ERU men, no such arrangements were ever communicated to the ERU members involved.
The Director of the ICCL, Mr Donncha O'Connell, expressed disappointment at the adjournment. "If the gardai persist in their efforts to close down this inquiry the Government should simply accede to their preference for a sworn judicial inquiry," he said.
He also called for a police ombudsman to be appointed. "It is vital that this central policy issue is now addressed and that the Government face down those vested interests which are hell-bent on maintaining an immunity from accountability for the police," he said.
Speaking after the adjournment, the sub-committee chairman, Mr Sean Ardagh, said the inquiry hoped to be "back in business" in early June after the secretary to the Government had adjudicated on the applications of nine ERU men to be exempted from giving evidence.
He said if the nine were exempted, it "would certainly put us in a difficulty".