The possibility of an overseas judge or senior lawyer presiding over a tribunal to investigate the Sheedy affair was raised by Mr Maurice Manning.
The Fine Gael Seanad leader said he believed that the Joint Committee on Justice, Equality and Women's Rights was not adequately equipped at present to conduct this type of inquiry. The last thing they wanted to do was to initiate a whole process of inquiry through a committee, only to find at a halfway point that they were not able to complete the task.
He wanted to know if the Minister for Justice believed the committee had the necessary legal powers and if it was the appropriate vehicle for such an inquiry. If not, it should be given the necessary wherewithal or some other method should be found. He hoped this work could be done through the committee, but, if not, the only alternative, unpalatable though it appeared, might be some kind of judicial tribunal with limited terms, chaired perhaps by somebody from outside the jurisdiction.
He said he did not believe the affair was politically motivated or driven by class bias. "To me, this was a case which had its origins, its middle , its entire existence within the legal system itself. It is a case which leaves very serious questions still unanswered, major issues about the entire courts system to be addressed, and we will be looking to the Minister at the end of this debate for some of the answers to questions asked."
Dr Maurice Hayes (Ind) said he had been a friend for many years of Mr Justice O'Flaherty, who was a man of integrity and honour and always a compassionate judge.
Dr Hayes said he suspected that the way the Sheedy matter had been handled was characteristic of a closed, hierarchical and very deferential legal system. In a sense that was almost more worrying than one or two people making one or two mistakes.
He was glad that the Minister had drawn attention in the House to the suffering of the Ryan family. "I differ from most of what I heard in that I don't believe that four years was an excessive sentence for somebody who, under the influence of drink or reckless driving, killed a mother of a family."
Dr Hayes said he did not think there should be a rush to change the system. There was a tendency in these times to react by enacting special powers or legislation in response to a subversive outrage. Usually these proved to be unwise in retrospect.