Heather Humphreys was paired and on ministerial travel and therefore excused from a vote on an inquiry into the death of Shane O’Farrell in 2018, despite the Dáil voting block being included on her public diary.
The Fine Gael presidential election candidate was the local TD of Mr O’Farrell, who died in August 2011 while he was cycling home when he was struck by a car driven by Zigimantas Gridziuska, near Carrickmacross in Co Monaghan. At the time of Mr O’Farrell’s death, Gridziuska was on bail in connection with a number of separate incidents.
The O’Farrell family has consistently rejected the idea that Ms Humphreys had represented them, pointing specifically to Dáil votes on the establishment of an inquiry into the incident in 2018 and 2024. Sources said attendance at Dáil voting blocks is routinely added to ministers’ schedules.
Ms Humphreys told Colette Fitzpatrick on Virgin Media’s Big Interview on Monday that she was out of the country on a trade mission when a vote on the establishment of an inquiry took place on June 14, 2018. In the interview, Ms Humphreys said she was sorry that the O’Farrell family had not received an apology sooner.
She said she had spoken to Shane’s mother, Lucia, around the time of his death and had “done everything I could” subsequently. She said she was not sure where she had been when a vigil had taken place but when the Dáil vote had happened, she was “actually abroad, I was on a trade mission”.
“I can explain to you about [not] voting [for the inquiry] in the Dail, I was actually abroad. I was on a trade mission in another country when that actually took place,” she said.
A spokesperson on Tuesday said Ms Humphreys was “paired” to attend business meetings in London. Dáil pairing arrangements are typically arranged between the Government and Opposition in the case of ministerial absences from the Dáil.
“As Heather said last night, she was on ministerial travel and paired from June 12 to 14, 2018, and was not back to vote on the 14th,” a spokesperson said.
While Dáil records and video show that Ms Humphreys was not present at the vote, the June 14 listing from the publicly available diary from when Ms Humphreys was enterprise minister shows that she had been due to land on a flight from London at 11am and the Dáil’s voting block was in her diary from 12.47pm to 1.30pm.
In August 2011, 23-year-old law graduate Shane O’Farrell was cycling home when he was struck by a car in the Carrickmacross area of Co Monaghan. Photo: O’Farrell family handout/PA
Flight data provided by FlightRadar24 shows that the flight Ms Humphreys was due to travel on landed in Dublin at 11.33am. Departmental records show that this was the only flight paid for, for the minister.
Ms Humphreys’ diary says she was due to meet then-junior minister Martin Heydon from 3pm until 7pm and attend an event at Cavan Chamber of Commerce that evening. Social media posts from the chamber show Ms Humphreys was in attendance at that event.
Asked by the Irish Examiner whether she had been in the country, Ms Humphreys said she “wasn’t sure what day it was, never mind what time a plane landed seven and a half years ago”.
“I hardly know what day it is this week, never mind what time the flight came in at seven years ago,” she said at a press event in Merrion Square on Tuesday.
“But I definitely was, I was out of the country. I was out of the country.
“I was abroad that morning, I certainly was. I don’t know what time the flight came in at, to be honest with you. As I say, I hardly know what day it is today. Seven and a half years ago, would you remember what time a flight came into Dublin Airport?”
The O’Farrell family received a State apology related to Shane’s killing earlier this year from justice minister Jim O’Callaghan. Ms Humphreys said that while a minister, she was constrained from being involved, but had deep sympathy for Ms O’Farrell.
It would break anybody’s heart. I’m a mother, too, and I had children around the same age as her Shane, and that could have been any of us, and it really is heartbreaking what the O’Farrell family had to put up with with the loss of their dear son.
The ministerial diary from the Department of Enterprise shows that Ms Humphreys had flown to London on the Tuesday evening of June 12 and took part in “political and business meetings” all day on June 13 before returning on June 14.
The O’Farrell family has, throughout the presidential campaign, rejected Ms Humphreys’ assertions that she “did everything she could” for their campaign.
The family declined to comment on the vote, but in a previous statement to the Irish Examiner said: “For over 13 years, Ms Humphreys was our local TD, a member of government, and sat at the cabinet table. She was also minister for justice during this time.
“There is nothing on the public record or the record of the Dáil of her advocating for Shane…she did not vote on the two occasions that the Dáil voted in favour of a public inquiry.
“She never met our family during her time as a TD, nor did we hear from Ms Humphreys after the State apology. We do not accept Ms Humphrey’s contention that she ‘did all that she could’.”
Dáil records show that at a second vote in July 2024, Ms Humphreys abstained with the Government on the establishment of an inquiry into the case.