Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan has requested a report from gardaí on an unmarked grave in Co Wexford which the family of a woman missing since 1988 believes could contain her remains.
The family has called on Mr Lenihan to sanction an exhumation of the grave to enable DNA testing to determine if the remains are those of Priscilla Clarke.
Once Mr Lenihan gets the Garda report on the circumstances surrounding the unmarked grave, including when and where the body in it was found, it will be studied by the Wexford county coroner.
He will advise the Minister about the merits of an exhumation before Mr Lenihan makes a final decision.
Ms Clarke a 25-year-old woman from Ardee, Co Louth, went missing on May 3rd, 1988 at Powerscourt, Enniskerry, Co Wicklow.
She was out horse-riding with Lynda Kavanagh, the American-born wife of Irish property tycoon and businessman Mark Kavanagh. Ms Clarke worked as childminder for the Kavanaghs.
Gardaí believe the two women were swept away in the flooded river Dargle as their horses were crossing the water after days of heavy rain. Mrs Kavanagh's remains were found two days later after a massive search.
Ms Clarke's body was never recovered. Her family, supported by neighbours from Ardee, continued their own search of the Dargle for a long period but it yielded nothing.
Ms Clarke's family in January identified a grave at Crosstown Cemetery in Co Wexford which contains the remains of three people, including an unidentified woman aged between 25 and 40 years. This woman's skeletal remains were found on Ballinamona Beach, Co Wexford, on December 12th, 1995 and were buried six months later. The family says it has established that the gardaí who investigated the discovery of the remains never considered they could be those of Ms Clarke.
This was despite the remains being the same height as Ms Clarke, about 5ft 7in. A pair of Lee jeans, like those worn by the missing woman, were found on the remains. A set of Volkswagen keys, like those Ms Clarke used, were found in the pocket. However, the keys have now been misplaced.
Large portions of the original Garda investigation file are also missing. A report of the postmortem carried out on the remains is also unavailable.
Ms Clarke's sister, Clare Keane, believes there are sufficient grounds to warrant an exhumation. She says that if the remains are not those of her sister they could be those of any one of a number of women who went missing in the late 1980s or early 1990s.
Ms Clarke's family wrote to Mr Lenihan in August requesting an exhumation.
Mr Lenihan requested a Garda report yesterday afternoon after the family's request was reported in The Irish Times.
A spokeswoman for the Minister refused to comment, saying any information on the case would not be relayed to the family via the media. However, a number of reliable security sources have confirmed that a Garda report was requested by Mr Lenihan yesterday.
While the disappearance of Ms Clarke and Mrs Kavanagh attracted widespread media attention at the time, the Clarke family believe the Garda investigation effectively stopped days after Lynda Kavanagh's remains were found.
