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

I thank the Minister for the detailed report. On 20 January, I had the opportunity, along with other members of Fianna Fáil Party, to welcome in the Dáil debate the Stormont House Agreement and to compliment the Minister on his hands-on approach to this issue. As a party, we have been critical and have highlighted the need for both Governments to take a more hands-on approach during the Haass talks. We are glad the Minister has taken this approach and there have been dividends from it.

Regarding the historical investigations unit to be established, legislation will have to pass Westminster and having a new Government will cause some delay. In reply to a recent parliamentary question, I note the commitment of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Minister for Justice and Equality to bring forward any legislation we need as soon as possible. In the Dáil debate, I quoted from Lethal Allies, Anne Cadwallader's book:

In between the Dublin Bombings of 1st December 1972 and the 20th January, 1973, Fermanagh-based members of the UDR and UVF carried out three bombings within an hour - Clones (County Monaghan) Belturbet (County Cavan) and Pettigo (County Donegal) - all on 28th December 1972. Two teenagers, Geraldine O'Reilly (aged fifteen) [from Belturbet] and Paddy Stanley (aged sixteen) [from Clara, County Offaly], were killed in Belturbet.

No one has been brought to justice for those atrocities. I know the O'Reilly family very well and I know the family from different commemorations in Belturbet. I am sure the Minister knows the Stanley family. A complaint has been lodged from with the police ombudsman's office in Northern Ireland about the murders in Belturbet and I hope no blockage is put in the way of having this incident referred to the historical investigations unit when it is established. If carnage or murders are to be investigated by the historical investigations unit when it is established, they must be cleared by the police ombudsman's office first. The Dublin and Monaghan bombings were referred to the police ombudsman's office and accepted. Similarly, the murder of two people in the Drogheda in December 1975 and the murder of Mr. Mone in Castleblayney in March 1976 have been accepted by the police ombudsman. I sincerely hope that the murder of those two young teenagers in Belturbet will be investigated.

None of us can realise the terrible trauma and suffering those families continue to go through while nobody has been brought to justice for those horrific murders. I hope that whatever discussions or work the Minister and his officials can undertake to ensure that this atrocity is investigated are undertaken.

I had the opportunity to meet the Secretary of State, Theresa Villiers, when she visited Dublin in February. Along with Deputy Martin, I again highlighted the need for the British Government to respond positively to the two unanimous requests of Dáil Éireann regarding giving an eminent legal person access to files pertaining to the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. More than 40 years have passed and the least people deserve is the truth regarding who carried out those atrocities.

Does the Minister think welfare reform is parked for the next five weeks during the course of the British general election, or has any progress been made in recent talks between the five party leaders in Northern Ireland since the beginning of this year?

Another thing that baffles me is the lack of progress on the establishment of a civic forum. I presume this has been blocked by Sinn Féin and the DUP. It is a devolved matter and a matter for the parties. There was a civic forum and it is a matter of re-convening it. I have said on numerous occasions that I do not know who is threatened by a civic forum. I visited Armagh only two weeks ago and met different groups. A proportion of the population feels alienated from the political process. We all know that the civic forum will not have the answers to everything but at least if it is a forum to give different groups, representative organisations and advocacy groups a platform to air their views and put forward their proposals, it can be helpful. The Minister might let us know what a civic advisory panel will mean. Why not establish a civic forum, perhaps in a different format from that which existed previously? It should be established. It would seem that the two main parties have blocked its establishment to date, which is ridiculous.

The Minister mentioned the meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council in June. I presume his Department is involved in deciding the agenda for this meeting or meetings. An issue that is of widespread concern in the Border counties both North and South is illegal trade. There is illegal trade in diesel, petrol, tobacco products and clothing. Gangsters and criminals have built up huge businesses through illegal trade. We have seen damage to the environment in counties Louth, Monaghan and Cavan and north of the Border. There is a threat to public health, the waterways and the provenance and authenticity of our food production systems. Our party put forward legislation calling for the establishment of a North-South statutory body to pull together An Garda Síochána, the PSNI, the Revenue Commissioners and their counterpart in Northern Ireland, the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, and the EPA and its counterpart north of the Border. It is estimated that this State loses a minium of €260 million per year in revenue due to these illegal activities. I do not expect the Minister to comment on our proposal, which we hope the Government will accept, in respect of establishing a body that will save the State money rather than being a cost to the State. This issue could be put on the agenda of the next meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council and the genuine concerns of communities living in Border counties could be dealt with. We constantly see diesel and petrol spillages on our roads, which cost local authorities a huge amount of money to clean up. Small businesses are being put out of business due to illegal trading. All of these issues need to be addressed and this can only be done on a North-South basis. I know An Garda Síochána and our customs authorities do exceptionally good work on this side of the Border, but it is an issue that needs to be dealt with politically on an all-Ireland basis, and the necessary statutory agency needs to be established to deal with it. I hope that this issue can be discussed at the next meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council.