Political reaction: Opposition politicians yesterday welcomed the report and said it contained important lessons for the Garda, the Government, the public and the Oireachtas.
Fine Gael justice spokesman Jim O'Keeffe TD said it was clear that the Garda Síochána had made many mistakes on the day and that procedures were not followed. "I would like to extend my deepest sympathy to the Carthy family," he said.
"The shooting dead of John Carthy six years ago provided the Government with an opportunity to examine the status of Garda firearms training. Given that a third of the Force, or 3,631 gardaí as of December 31st, 2005, have firearms certificates, it is crucial that firearms training is of the highest standard.
"Yet there is no evidence that the Minister is in any way committed to improving the system. Instead, his Government has presided over the downgrading of the Garda firearms training system. How can we expect gardaí to follow procedures when proper training is not being provided, and when training facilities are out-of-date and inappropriate?"
He said the only Garda indoor firing range in Dublin was closed in 2005 after a ricochet was detected, and that the only tactical training range in Templemore has been demolished. Gardaí therefore had to use defence force firing ranges which were not appropriate to their needs.
He maintained that little had been done to introduce non-lethal weapons for the Garda. "The Government must take immediate steps to implement the Barr report's recommendations, including improved firearms training for gardaí, new non-lethal weapons and improvements to the command structure of the Emergency Response Unit."
The Labour Party's justice spokesman, Brendan Howlin, said the report contained major lessons for the Garda, the Government and the Oireachtas, "specifically relating to how the gardaí operate in crisis situations, how firearm legislation requires review, and the manner in which open-ended public inquiries are conducted".
He congratulated Mr Justice Barr on the report which lists what he describes as "the failures by the scene commanders and others which contributed to the disaster at Abbeylara". Twenty-three such failures, each serious, are listed. He said the events at Abbeylara could not have been predicted "but better training and preparedness for crisis situations, including how to deal with those suffering from psychiatric conditions, may have resulted in a different outcome to the siege".
He said the report showed that the Garda Síochána's continuing link to the management and training structures of the FBI now required urgent re-examination. "It was the FBI that gave the Garda an initial clean bill of health - their only criticism was that John Carthy should have been shot sooner. Their training and methods are clearly unsuited to Ireland."
He said the Oireachtas and the public could not continue committing to lengthy and expensive tribunals such as this one, which cost €18 million and took four years.
"The Supreme Court in its wisdom prevented an Oireachtas committee from inquiring into Abbeylara. That committee would have completed public sittings within a matter of weeks rather than years. While we must all live with that judgment, we haven't yet arrived at a balanced inquiry process into matters of public concern that is thorough, efficient and time-limited, as the European Convention on Human Rights requires."
Sinn Féin's justice spokesman, Aengus Ó Snodaigh, said the long delay in the report's publication "highlights the need for a fully independent complaints procedure under a single Garda ombudsman".
He said both Fianna Fáil/PD governments in power since the killing of John Carthy in 2000 have "failed to adequately deal with the fundamental problem that is the lack of accountability within the Garda and the need for root and branch Garda reform.
"It was abundantly clear to anyone who has followed this case that negligence on the part of the Garda was the crucial factor in the death of John Carthy. I welcome Justice Minister Michael McDowell's apology on behalf of the State to the Carthy family. However, he must face up to and deal with the serious faults within the Garda that lead to John Carthy's death."
Green Party leader Trevor Sargent called for the establishment of a Garda Ombudsman, saying a "terrible wrong" had been suffered by the Carthy family. "If there was an ombudsman in place for An Garda Síochána, as exists in Northern Ireland, it wouldn't have taken four years to produce this report," he said.
"There is a grave need to establish an independent ombudsman to ensure that families such as the Carthy family are never left to wait for so long again." He said some of the report's recommendations, such as that saying weapons such as stun guns should be introduced, had been called for in the past.
"This recommendation is not new and it only proves this Government's incompetence in tackling our flawed crime prevention system. Issuing a 'statement of regret' as suggested by Minister McDowell today, would only serve to insult this family. The State should apologise in full and admit that they took a man's life without just cause."