TÁNAISTE MICHEÁL MARTIN has said the Irish state failed the family of Sophie Toscan du Plantier.

Martin’s comments come after he said yesterday that he believes the case against Ian Bailey for her murder should have gone before a jury. 

Sophie, a 39-year-old filmmaker, was found dead and beaten outside her holiday home in Schull, West Cork in December 1999.

Bailey, the self-confessed chief suspect for her murder, died earlier this year in February.

Originally from Britain, Bailey was arrested by gardaí and questioned in relation to the murder but was never charged.

He had always denied any involvement in Sophie’s death but was convicted of her murder in his absence by a French court in May 2019.

In October 2020, the Irish High Court refused to allow his extradition to France.

Her murder has been brought back into the spotlight this week following the publication of a book, Sophie: The Final Verdict, by Irish Independent journalist and author Senan Molony.

Yesterday, Sophie’s uncle Jean-Pierre Gazeau called for a public inquiry into her death to look at the circumstances of it and the subsequent investigation and legal processes.

Speaking in Dublin today following the North-South Ministerial Council, Taoiseach Simon Harris was asked if there should be a public inquiry into Sophie’s death. 

Harris said Sophie’s family have faced “an extraordinary upsetting saga” since her murder, but he would not commit to an inquiry. 

“I am conscious, though… that there is a cold case review to the best of my understanding underway by An Garda Síochána and I think it’s important that this is allowed take place and then obviously government can see where the matter stands,” Harris said. 

Adding to this, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said it is important to reflect on “momentous events of this kind”. 

“We should never save ourselves, our systems from reflection and observation by any yardstick,” he said. 

He continued:

I’ve come to the conclusion that we did fail the family of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, we didn’t do right by Sophie Toscan du Plantier.

But there has to be space in our public discourse for that kind of reflection.”