A tribunal of inquiry into the shooting of John Carthy during a Garda operation at Abbeylara, Co Longford, in April 2000 is now expected before the year's end following the decision by the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, to recommend that a judicial inquiry be established.
Speaking after a graduation ceremony at the Garda College, Templemore, yesterday, he said he would put the proposal to the Dáil in the light of yesterday's Supreme Court decision that politicians are not entitled to inquire into the Abbeylara operation's nature.
"I am doing this not just in the interests of the truth but also, of course, in the interests of the Carthy family and in the interests of the Garda Síochána." He said he was always anxious that the full facts on the shooting at Abbeylara would be established "in an open and transparent way".
The family of John Carthy have welcomed the Minister's recommendation. Mr Carthy's sister, Marie, said a public inquiry was "the only way we will get all the unanswered questions answered".
She said the investigation of the Garda's conduct in her brother's case had "dragged on for too long. The stop-start nature of all the inquiries has made it more difficult for the family," she added.
She hoped the next inquiry would be held in Longford "so we can have our family and friends around us". She also hoped the tribunal would get under way soon, looked forward to seeing its terms of reference, and pledged her family's full co-operation with it.
Ms Carthy said the Oireachtas subcommittee inquiry into the shooting was doing "a great job" before its powers were challenged.
"It raised some very important questions and we were happy with the way they were conducting the inquiry and would like to thank them for their efforts and good work. We were hoping they would be able to continue," Ms Carthy said.
Mr O'Donoghue said his preference was that the inquiry would be held in public. "Insofar as I could, I would like to see all matters of public importance discussed in public because, in that way, people's faith in the system is maintained and where it is required to be restored, it is restored."
He said that having regard to the time it took to introduce legislation to establish the tribunal into alleged unethical and criminal behaviour by gardaí in Donegal, he believed a similar timetable of two to three months was involved.
"I would certainly hope to see the inquiry up and running before the end of the year."
He believed that all the legislative provisions necessary were now in place following the recent amending of the Tribunals of Inquiry Act.
"I am of the view that the legislation which we introduced, which provides, for example, that certain items of evidence can be heard in private if the tribunal moves that it could prejudice an individual's right to a fair trial, might be helpful in the context of Abbeylara. But I don't know that. I could not say that there was any criminal wrongdoing in Abbeylara, obviously."
He added that it was not for him to express disappointment at yesterday's court decision.
"It's for me to accept the decision of the court as the Minister for Justice."
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, who was officiating at the official opening of the State's first Olympic-standard pool at the University of Limerick, welcomed his colleague's announcement. He said that with the Oireachtas subcommittee now unable to pursue an investigation, "it's time to move with the other one".
The main Dáil parties all committed themselves to supporting legislation, or a constitutional amendment if necessary, to ensure the Oireachtas retained the power to conduct inquiries.
The Government Chief Whip, Mr Seamus Brennan, said last night that the Government, TDs and senators would all study the judgment to decide what steps to take.
Mr Brennan said they would have to "restore some appropriate power and investigative authority to the Oireachtas and its committee system."
Fine Gael Justice spokesman Mr Alan Shatter said that "serious consideration will have to be given to whether it is in the public interest to propose a constitutional amendment to enable committees of the Houses of the Oireachtas undertake inquiries of major public importance"
Labour TD Mr Pat Rabbitte, who was prominent in the DIRT inquiry, said that the system of parliamentary committees had to be put on a statutory footing.
"The two Houses of the Oireachtas are in genuine danger of being relegated to the status of being no more than well-staffed talking shops."