The Government will not proceed with a public inquiry into the case of Cynthia Owen.

Ms Owen alleged that as a 10-year-old child she was raped by members of her family and impregnated and alleged that senior gardaí were involved.

Ms Owen had alleged the baby, named Noleen, was conceived following sexual abuse in her family home in Dalkey, Dublin, and was stabbed to death there in April 1973.

The body of the infant was found days later in a Dún Laoghaire laneway, wrapped in newspapers and packed into a plastic bag.

An inquest in 2007 identified the child as that of Ms Owen – formerly Sindy Murphy – of White’s Villas in Dalkey.

People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett who has campaigned for a public inquiry into the case said the Government’s decision was “completely outrageous”.

Mr Boyd Barrett said Ms Owen sent him a copy of letter she received from the Department of Justice on Tuesday confirming a public inquiry would not take place.

Mr Boyd Barrett said he raised the issue in the Dáil on Tuesday with Taoiseach Enda Kenny before he received the letter.

The letter said based on a recommendation from a panel of barristers, the Department of Justice would not be taking any further action with the case.

Mr Boyd Barrett said Ms Owen and her solicitor Gerry Dunne are “reeling” from the decision.

“There has never been a proper investigation and I think they should protest in the most vociferous terms,” he said.

In 2014, Ms Owen called for a public inquiry into Noleen’s murder, or for the case to be included in any Commission of Investigation arising out of senior counsel’s Seán Guerin’s examination of the dossier of files relating to cases allegedly mishandled by gardaí.