Minister criticised over 14-month silence on Sallins case inquiry petition

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has sharply criticised Minister for Justice Helen McEntee for failing to respond to a petition calling for an independent inquiry into the Sallins case, one of the most controversial cases in the history of the Irish justice system.

Despite a commitment made in the Dáil to engage with the petition, which was submitted by every major human rights NGO in the country, the Department of Justice has remained silent for over 14 months.

The only statement to date from the Minister has been a vague promise to respond “in due course”.

The petition, prepared by ICCL, the Committee for the Administration of Justice (CAJ), the Pat Finucane Centre and Fair Trials, was submitted in September 2023.

It calls for a statutory public inquiry into the treatment of six men — known as the Sallins Men — who were arrested, detained and allegedly tortured by Gardaí following the 1976 Sallins train robbery.

The six men, Michael Barrett, Osgur Breatnach, John Fitzpatrick, Nicky Kelly, Brian McNally, and the late Mick Plunkett, were all subjected to what human rights groups describe as serious abuse while in Garda custody.

Four of the men signed what were later contested as coerced confessions.

Three were convicted by the Special Criminal Court and served time in prison before being either acquitted or pardoned.

To this day, no public inquiry has ever been held into the events surrounding their arrests and convictions.

In a statement, ICCL said:

“The human rights violations inflicted upon the Sallins Men by An Garda Síochána and accepted by other parts of the Irish criminal justice system were part of a systemic pattern of human rights violations endemic across many years in Ireland’s history. The Irish State has systematically failed to address their treatment and the systems which enabled this treatment to occur.”

Acting Co-Director of ICCL, Clare McEvoy, said the State’s ongoing inaction is causing further harm to the five surviving Sallins Men and their families.

“Fourteen months ago we petitioned the Minister for Justice and government to establish a public inquiry into the case. Since then, the only response we’ve received is that the Minister will respond to the petition ‘in due course’. The impact of this case lives on… They deserve truth, justice and accountability, all of which can only be achieved through a fully independent statutory inquiry.”

The ICCL’s call has been echoed by legal representatives of the men.

Christopher Stanley of KRW LAW, which is assisting the survivors, said:

“We support the message made clear in ICCL’s letter to the Minister — that the government’s failure to address the human rights abuses arising from the Sallins Case is both an indictment of and indicative of the position of successive Irish governments to fail to investigate conflict-related violations in accordance with standards demanded by the European Convention on Human Rights. That is a human rights deficit that must be accounted for.”

Mr Stanley urged the Minister to respond without further delay and establish the independent inquiry sought by survivors and campaigners.

The Sallins case has long been viewed as a major miscarriage of justice in Irish legal history. Campaigners argue that only a full, statutory inquiry can offer closure, uncover the full truth, and help prevent future violations of human rights in Ireland’s justice system.