John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to move on to another equally serious issue, namely, that of missing people in Ireland. As many people in this House will know, I am holding a meeting with the families of missing people today in the audiovisual room at 1 p.m. I would appreciate it if as many as possible could come along. According to the Department of Justice, as of July of this year there are 840 missing people in Ireland. There are also 44 people who are buried in graveyards around Ireland and are totally unidentified. I am holding the meeting today on behalf of Claire Keane from County Louth. Claire's sister, Priscilla Clarke, went missing in May 1988 while horseriding in the River Dargle in Enniskerry and has never been found. The families of missing people who are coming here today have a number of key asks of us as politicians. One of them is the development of a comprehensive database like they have in the UK. We have a database here, but it is not as comprehensive as it could be in terms of detailing what a missing person was wearing on the day they were last seen, what jewellery they were wearing, and the colour of their hair, for example. It does not have the same level of comprehensiveness that the UK database has. There are a number of other key asks on which I hope we can get cross-party agreement and we will be able to bring to the Minister for Justice and the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne.

They key point is that it is everyone's worst nightmare to have a family member just disappear. Some died in circumstances like Priscilla, who was trying to cross a flooded river and was unfortunately washed away. Other people were murdered. The people who committed those acts have not been brought to justice. I think missing people represent a part of Irish society that is somewhat forgotten about. I accept that we have a missing persons day every year and that is most welcome, but I would appreciate a debate at some stage in the future on the key asks that these families will bring today. I encourage everyone to come along to the audiovisual room at 1 p.m.