Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The footprints of collusion that track across Britain's dirty war in Ireland chart a shameful trail of state murder. It was directed and co-ordinated at the highest levels of the British system, in alliance with loyalist death squads, and targeted the nationalist community, Sinn Féin representatives, human rights activists and, indeed, the fledgling peace process itself. The series of reports published by the Police Ombudsman illuminate in horrific detail what has been known for decades. Collusion was no illusion. It was the lived reality for the nationalist community and, for so many, collusion was the route to their murder at the hands of the British state.

The Police Ombudsman's report into 27 loyalist murders and attempted murders in south Belfast between 1990 and 1998 is truly shocking. It includes the mass shooting at the Sean Graham bookmakers on the Ormeau Road in February 1992, when five men and boys were shot dead by the UFF. The report shows that British state agents and members of the RUC colluded with the UFF in the murder of these innocent civilians. The depth and callousness of the collusion involved is revealed by the fact that these were agents who were up to their necks in the violent targeting of nationalists. They were on the books and clearly identifiable in multiple murderers. In return for their cruel deeds, they were shielded by the British system that directed and orchestrated their actions. As Mark Sykes, a survivor of the Ormeau Road massacre puts it:

They were merely a protected species as information about their involvement in killings was not shared with investigating officers and information regarding their involvement was routinely destroyed.

Collusion was a structured, organised process that orbited the eventual act of murder. At the centre sat the British state every single time. I refer to the cover-ups, the destruction of evidence, the provision of weapons by the RUC to loyalist groups, the failure by the RUC special branch to alert targets that they were in danger and the failure to test alibis, to conduct forensic analysis and to protect eyewitnesses. No stone was left unturned to ensure there would be no truth, no accountability and no justice. This report is the latest in a series that has put the travesty of British collusion under a bright spotlight. It follows the Police Ombudsman's damning investigation into Operation Greenwich, which detailed British state collusion in 19 murders and two attempted murders of Irish citizens by the British state. The threads of British injustice in Ireland run deep and wrap around the legacy of conflict. It shows that the British state purposefully targeted members of the nationalist community for murder. Collusion was the method used to keep the hands of the powerful clear and hidden.

On Saturday, I stood on the streets of Ballymurphy in west Belfast. Those are the same streets where in 1971 the parachute regiment, the outfit of Bloody Sunday infamy, shot dead ten innocent civilians. The families of the victims showed me the spots where their loved ones were killed. They too have faced decades of cover-up, black propaganda and concerted efforts on the part of the British state to deny and dodge responsibility for the murderous actions of its soldiers in Ballymurphy. For the Ballymurphy and Bloody Sunday families, and for all the loved ones of those whose murders are detailed in the Police Ombudsman's reports, there have been years of hurt, pain and searing anger. There have been years of sleepless nights, chorused by that dull thudding sound that only such injustice can summon. Now, in the face of injustice after injustice, the British Government seeks an amnesty for those who carried out murder on its behalf. Shame on it.

Britain can have no hiding place from the deliberate, calculated policy of arming, directing and controlling death squads in Ireland. There is no support for its proposed amnesty here or internationally, and we stand with the families crying out for justice. This Oireachtas must stand as one and foursquare in support of that demand. The Taoiseach has repeated his opposition to the amnesty, as has the Minister this afternoon. However, it is now imperative that we see real effort by the Irish State and the Irish Government to put persistent pressure on the British Government to drop its shameful amnesty legislation and to return to the legacy mechanisms as agreed at Stormont House. It is through these agreed mechanisms that we can best address the legacy of conflict in Ireland and, together, meet the need for truth, justice and, yes, reconciliation too.

We can build a better future for everyone who calls Ireland home. I refer to a new Ireland, in which the potential of our people can be realised and where discrimination, prejudice and hate are replaced with hope, friendship and togetherness, and an Ireland where the dark days of the past are never repeated and never relived. How we deal with the legacy of the past, however, is fundamental to building that future. Boris Johnson and his Government cannot ignore their responsibilities. They cannot be allowed to ride roughshod over the opportunity of all our communities to see that future I have referred to made real. We have seen that happen far too many times. Therefore, it is now the responsibility of the Irish Government to ensure that the British Government understands this and understands that this will not happen again.

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