Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the representatives of Amnesty International here today. I will not delay the meeting as I have had the opportunity to engage directly with the guests, but I welcome the research, the report and the proposals it contains.
I understand the HET has been practically stood down. From its research and engagement with different stakeholders, would Amnesty International think a re-established HET with an enhanced role could provide a worthwhile framework to move the issues around dealing with the past forward? Mr. Durkan referred to Anne Cadwallader’s very good book, Lethal Allies, dealing with extremely difficult issues. It brought facts into the open for many families. Margaret Irwin of Justice for the Forgotten is here today and I would like to compliment her, Ms Cadwallader and their colleagues in the Pat Finucane Centre on continuing to work as strong advocates for so many bereaved families.

There is another issue on which I would like a public pronouncement, namely, the failure of the British Government to respond positively to the all-party unanimous request of this Parliament to seek British co-operation in handing over all original documents on the Dublin-Monaghan bombings of 1974. We will soon reach the 40th anniversary of those atrocities, the largest single slaughter of innocent people on our island during that very difficult period referred to as the Troubles. An all-party motion was moved in Dáil Éireann in July 2008 by the then Government Chief Whip and it received the unanimous support of Dáil Éireann. The request was reiterated by a unanimous motion in Dáil Éireann in July 2011 but unfortunately there has been no response from the British Government to our request that the documentation be provided to allow proper inquiries to be followed up. Will Amnesty International, in whatever channel it communicates with the British Government, support the request of a sovereign Parliament to another sovereign Government?

I commend the witnesses on their work. A range of issues has been covered and they are all extremely important. Will the witnesses revert on the potential for an enhanced historical enquiries team, HET?