The family of Sophie Toscan du Plantier has welcomed a decision by the Garda Commissioner to progress requests for assistance from French authorities investigating the filmmaker's murder in west Cork over a decade ago.
Commissioner Fachtna Murphy said he had made his decision after the Director of Public Prosecutions ruled that nobody should be prosecuted after an internal garda review of the murder investigation and complaints made by witness Marie Farrell.
Ms Farrell, a shopkeeper from Schull in west Cork, told gardaí and the Ian Bailey libel trial that she had seen Mr Bailey on a bridge just over a mile from Sophie Toscan du Plantier's home on the night the French woman was murdered.
In October 2005, Marie Farrell withdrew that statement, saying it was false and she had been coerced into making it by gardaí.
An internal garda investigation was conducted under Assistant Commissioner Ray McAndrew. The file was sent to the DPP, who has ruled that no prosecutions should take place.
A French investigating magistrate in Paris has also been conducting a separate investigation into Sophie Toscan du Plantier's murder, and for years the French have been seeking access to the garda file.
Commissioner Murphy has now announced that the gardaí will progress those requests for assistance.
In Paris, the news has been welcomed by Sophie Toscan du Plantier's family.
This is perhaps the most significant development in the investigation into Sophie Toscan du Plantier's murder in years.
If magistrate Patrick Gachon in Paris is given access to the garda file, it means he can complete his investigation and bring a prosecution in France, under French law.
