Tánaiste Micheál Martin has strongly criticised the judicial system over its failure to deliver justice for the family of French woman Sophie Toscan du Plantier who was murdered in west Cork in December 1996.
Speaking at the book launch of "Sophie: The Final Verdict" by Senan Molony, Mr Martin said: "The failure to deliver justice, to hold her murderer to account, is and should always be a deep shame for us."
Mr Martin added: "The terrible anguish of her family and all who knew her was made much worse by the fact that our system proved incapable of meeting its responsibilities to Sophie."
The Tánaiste, who launched the book in Dublin, said: "The simple fact is that we failed in our duty to find and convict a bloody murderer – and our system blocked alternative routes when others were not willing to accept our failures."
He continued: "When the French state sought justice for its murdered citizen, the Irish courts were successfully used to block its efforts and for every failure there was an excuse. Often these excuses relied of high principles of law and justice."
Mr Martin said no system of justice operates without errors and he accepted that a balance must be struck between seeking justice for a victim and respecting the rights of the accused.
However, he opined that when the evidence in this case is examined "...it is very, very hard to understand why this evidence was not put before a jury.
"It is hard to understand why the system was so convinced by its interpretations of legal principles that it effectively threw its hands in the air and gave up," he said.
The Tánaiste said a system of justice must deliver for victims.
"I think we need an honest conversation about why crimes which can be processed much quicker in other democratic societies seem endlessly delayed here. Look at the rapid conviction of rioters in other countries and compare this to our response to riots here," he said.
He said: "There is currently a cold case review into Sophie's murder under way. I sincerely hope that it brings some clarity to the circumstances around her tragic death, and answers some of the questions that her beloved parents, Georges and Marguerite, her son, Pierre Louis... have waited nearly three decades for."
Sophie Toscan du Plantier’s uncle Jean-Pierre Gazeau also addressed the book launch and used the opportunity to thank the many people in Ireland who had assisted his family.
He also called for an immediate and new inquiry into the circumstances of his niece's death, so that the truth of her murder could finally be delivered.
Author Senan Molony, who is also a political correspondent with the Irish Independent, described his book as the "prosecution case" against the self-declared leading suspect, the late Ian Bailey.
