An off-duty Garda was questioned at the scene of a crash in Lucan yesterday morning in which a young man was killed, it has been reported.
Derek O'Toole (24), from Clondalkin, was struck by a car in Lucan village at around 5am. He was taken to James Connolly Memorial Hospital in Blanchardstown where he died at around 7.30am.
A Garda spokeswoman refused to comment today on reports that an officer had been asked to take a breathalyser test but was found not to be driving over the limit.
It is understood that the man breathalysed was an off-duty officer and that his vehicle was also seized for technical examination. Media reports today said there were up to five other gardaí in the car at the time.
In an interview on RTÉ radio, Mr O'Toole's mother, Christine, said her son had never been in trouble with the police and was a "model son".
She said she was told at the hospital that her son was found by a taxi driver who called the emergency services.
Investigating gardaí had told her that a man had been arrested and found not have been driving over the legal alcohol limit, she said, "but here was no mention of gardaí being involved."
Labour Party Dublin Mid West Senator Joanna Tuffy called for an independent inquiry into Mr O'Toole's death
"There are several features of this death that have caused concern locally. Why has the family of Derek O'Toole been given so little information about the circumstances of his death? Why were they not told that the car suspected of being involved was driven by a Garda? Why and by whom were members of the media apparently told that Derek O'Toole was 'known to the gardaí?'" asked Ms Tuffy.
"This is a form of short-hand frequently used by the gardaí to indicate that somebody has a criminal record, but the reality is that Derek O'Toole was a young man of exemplary character, who had courageously overcome a variety of serious health problems."
In the absence of an investigation by the Ombudsman Commission, the Garda Commissioner should ensure that there is an independent element to the investigation into Mr O'Toole's death, she added.