Garda silent on report’s finding

THE GARDA have declined to comment on specific failings regarding the force identified in an investigation into the death of a man assaulted by a criminal wrongly released from prison.

The investigation was set up by Justice Minister Dermot Ahern after it emerged criminal Martin McDonagh, 24, was supposed to be locked up when he attacked 59-year-old Noel Keegan in Longford town.

The investigation, conducted by Inspector of Prisons Judge Michael Reilly, found that McDonagh was at large due to a “litany of flawed systems” in the courts, prisons, gardaí and probation.