Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations and for their ongoing work to get to the truth behind what happened in the conflict. In particular, I thank Ms Anne Cadwallader for her assistance in preparing the report the committee launched in August. I have met the Victims' Commissioner. In terms of the outline of the number of cases, are there are 1,300 outstanding cases that have yet to be investigated, 300 of which involve former members of the security forces, of which seven or eight are under active investigation? I might be incorrect in that and the witnesses might outline the number. It is an enormous amount of files and, as has been outlined, the resources are not being put in there. The people who are supposed to be doing the investigation have a vested interest in making sure it does not happen. Even with all of the requirements that have been put on them, they seem to be able to frustrate the process.

I refer to Brexit and the wish to leave the jurisdiction of European courts. I know the European Court of Justice is a different issue but that is not to say that Britain will not leave that jurisdiction as well. It has been spoken about previously in different party manifestos. We have all seen and supported the motions in the Dáil and elsewhere. The European courts ruled a long time ago. If one has a leverage, one must use it in regard to the Brexit negotiations. The issue of Ireland has to be solved, and the Good Friday Agreement is, of course, part of that. In practical terms, we need to put pressure on the British Government and say that if Britain is leaving the European Union, it must live up to the rulings of European courts, although it will not be part of the European Union per se. That might an angle that we might pursue at another meeting. It is waiting for all the people involved to die and the victims and their families are being further victimised by the treatment they are receiving at the hands of the British Government and the security forces.

That might be another option because the British are impervious to Dáil motions and the British Ambassador is doing nothing in relation to releasing the files. While he talks about assistance, the British simply do not assist. We all know there was collusion, we all know it was a state-sponsored policy and we all know it was known at the highest level, all the way to the Prime Minister's office. We have an alleged democratic country involved in crimes that one would see in South and Central America, with murder gangs being instructed by their handlers. As stated in Ms Cadwallader's submission to the committee, there were only two people in the UVF who were not paid informers on the Shankill Road. This was a state structure, and they are impervious to all sorts of things. The only thing they are concerned about at this stage, and the only leverage we have, is Brexit. We must make the case that part of the agreement is that they have to fulfil their obligations under the Good Friday Agreement. Those issues have to be resolved as part of the settlement. Thank you, Chairman.