A judge in Co Kildare has said he wants to set the record straight in relation to the case of Evan Fitzgerald, who died during a shooting incident in Carlow town on Sunday evening.
The 22-year-old fired a shotgun into the air a number of times at Fairgreen Shopping Centre, before he died from a self-inflicted wound.
Nobody was injured by the shots fired. A young girl in the centre with her parents sustained a minor leg injury when she fell while running from the scene.
Gardaí said that a post-mortem examination on Mr Fitzgerald's body has been completed, but the results will not be released for operational reasons.
District Court Judge Desmond Zaidan said it had been reported that Mr Fitzgerald was on bail on firearms charges at the time.
However, the judge said that gardaí consented to bail and therefore he had no power to go behind that.
"Bail was granted on consent. Once that's done, this judge or no judge in Ireland has the power to overrule it. That's the way it was dealt with the 4 March 2024," he said
Judge Zaidan criticised the reporting and said while there were "a lot of headlines about a man on bail", they omitted certain key things.
"Once gardaí consent to bail, the court cannot go beyond that, remember that," he told reporters.
"This judge or no judge in Ireland has the power to go behind that. They'd be running to the High Court if I did. Once gardaí consent to bail, it must be granted, amen.
"Please report sensibly. Please tread carefully," he said.
"There are some sensational headlines out there about objections to bail but my function ceased straight away when there was consent to bail.
"I have to set the record straight," the judge added.
He said that he and his staff had reviewed recordings of the case.
Naas District Court heard the Director of Public Prosecutions intends to withdraw all charges against Mr Fitzgerald.
He was due in court today relating to firearms offences dating back to March 2024.
Level of misinformation around Carlow shooting 'shocking' - Taoiseach
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the level of misinformation that emerged on social media platforms in the immediate aftermath of the incident was "quite shocking".
Mr Martin said he saw some social media posts claiming that seven people had been killed in the incident.
"There is a family in mourning right now, but the level of misinformation on Sunday was quite shocking, and we can't just ignore that and say, well, we don't have to do anything about that," he said.
Mr Martin was responding to a question about the impact of potential misinformation regulations on freedom of speech.
The Taoiseach said: "Obviously, in any analysis and evaluation of policy, account will be taken in respect to protecting freedom of speech, but it's not freedom of speech really, when it's just a blatant lie and untruth which can create a lot of public disquiet, as we have seen."
He said these issues do need to be addressed.
Mr Martin said: "There are very strong protections in our Constitution and in our laws on freedom of speech, so I wouldn't overstate the impact on clamping down on blatant lies online as a sort of incursion or an undermining of freedom of speech.
"We believe in freedom of speech in this country. We will always support it, protect it to the best possible," he added.
Senior analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue Ciarán O'Connor said that as soon as word emerged of the incident in Carlow, rumours and claims began to surface online "making stunningly definitive but wholly inaccurate statements."
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said: "One of the most notable ones claimed that seven people including a child had been shot.
"That post was published on X and has over 360,000 views. It hasn't been taken down, [there has been] no kind of action identifying it as a false or misleading claim on the platform itself."
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