THE STATE is facing a substantial compensation claim by the family of Noel Keegan, who died after he was attacked by a man who was unlawfully at large.
Lorna Groarke, solicitor for the Keegan family, has confirmed that the matter is being pursued through legal channels. She declined to comment any further.
The development comes as calls increased for Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern to explain in the Dáil the failings across the justice system that led to the criminal at the centre of the case, Martin McDonagh, being unlawfully at large.
Fine Gael’s spokesman on justice Alan Shatter TD said Mr Ahern’s “lax” oversight of the justice system had led to a communications breakdown between various justice agencies “that had a serious role in the death of Noel Keegan”.
“A public apology must be given by the Minister for Justice in the Dáil on behalf of the Government to the Keegan family,” Mr Shatter added, “and arrangements must be made for the payment to them by the State of the compensation to which they are entitled, without the family having to suffer the further trauma of court proceedings.”
Mr Ahern has already apologised to the Keegans. He also said the recommendations of Judge Reilly identified for immediate action had been implemented, and the medium-term recommendations would be within a three-year timeframe.
Martin McDonagh (24), Edgeworthstown, Co Longford, was sentenced to five years in prison for assaulting Marie and Noel Keegan at Park Road, Longford, on December 31st, 2009. Mr Keegan (58), a father of five who had a serious heart condition, died just minutes after the assault.
When McDonagh was arrested, it emerged he should have been in prison serving a four-year jail term, imposed just eight months before he attacked Mr Keegan.