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

Dr. Leahy spoke about the opportunity the committee might have to raise these issues with counterparts in the Welsh and Scottish Assemblies as well as Westminster. We have done that consistently through the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly. Some members of this committee are also members of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly, which comprises Members from the Oireachtas, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the British Parliament, and the Scottish and Welsh Assemblies. I met Karen Bradley twice to discuss the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. I also met Mr. Brokenshire twice or three times. I raised specific questions during Question Time at the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly on the scandalous way the British Government has consistently ignored the three requests of a sovereign Parliament. As Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan said earlier, this House has passed motions unanimously in 2008, 2011 and 2016. The British Government has ignored those requests.

Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan, Deputy Crowe and I also met the former Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Flanagan, to discuss the issue. We have constantly kept the issue on the agenda. We will also raise it with our counterparts in the Scottish and Welsh Assemblies and again in Westminster. The people have been treated in an appalling way with the request of a sovereign Parliament being ignored. Those were very considered and reasoned motions. A lot of thought went into them so that in 2008, 2011 and 2016 everybody could agree to them. They encompassed the work of Ms Urwin's group, Justice for the Forgotten, and the families with whom we liaise constantly.

One ingredient might be missing. The presentations by Dr. Thomas Leahy and Ms Margaret Urwin were excellent. It is very good for the work of the committee. People are getting older and when I speak to Mr. Anthony O'Reilly, whose sister Geraldine was killed in Belturbet or the families of the victims of the Monaghan bombings or other such happenings, such as my friend, Mr. Kevin Ludlow, who is brother of the late Seamus Ludlow, they mention that they are all getting older and there is no sign of any justice being served or that they are getting the truth. It was always urgent that we would have a proper investigation and that the truth would be told but it is getting more urgent as every day passes. Memories do not improve either. People are getting older. Their health does not improve and again so many of them will talk to us about their utter frustration that nobody is listening.

As a committee regardless of politics, people of all parties and none, we re-emphasise every opportunity we get the need to deal with the legacy issues in a proper way and it is more urgent now than ever.

The presentations were exceptionally good and this is a process that we have in this committee of revisiting the legacy issues and having presentation by different individuals and groups. We keep working on this because it is so important. Let us think of May 1974, the day of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. There were many dark days in Ireland inflicted by paramilitaries from both sides and by some State forces as well. The British Government continues to ignore the request of our Parliament. That is unacceptable.

I thank Dr. Thomas Leahy and Ms Margaret Urwin for their presentations. I am sure we will have an opportunity in the future to engage with them.

I welcome Ms Monica Duffy-Campbell, Mr. Pat Fay and the visitors in the Public Gallery.

Deputies Maureen O'Sullivan, Sean Crowe and I engage constantly as a group in this House with the families of the victims of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings and we are all conscious of the families of other victims in other incidents such as Castleblayney, and Dundalk, where Mr. Seamus Ludlow was found dead. Ms Geraldine O'Reilly and Mr. Paddy Stanley were the victims of a bombing in Belturbet in December 1972. When we discuss legacy issues, all the families of those victims are remembered and we recall all of the victims in our deliberations.