John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It was nice to meet John Finucane properly last year. I must hold my hands up and say that my lack of knowledge of what happened to his family and father was slim to none compared with what I have learned this week. There is no point in me trying to say otherwise. I was not even born when John Finucane's father was so cruelly taken away from him.

I was hanging on every word of John Finucane earlier. What really struck me was trying to imagine the horror visited upon his home that Sunday afternoon when his family was sitting down to dinner. When we talk about collusion and recognising the other families affected, it reminded me of my own part of the world where Seamus Ludlow was murdered in 1976 through collusion.

It is galling in the extreme when one thinks of the lengths the Finucane family has had to go to, speaking to legislators across the world, whether in the US Congress or the Oireachtas, trying to bring a Government, which made a clear-cut commitment to the family, to deliver on what was promised so long ago. Personally, I hope John Finucane gets the answer he deserves before 30 November.

Moving forward, there are more people with more experience on Northern Ireland than I have, but the only way to bring real reconciliation to Northern Ireland is when the clear facts of what happened right across all communities are put on the table, are acknowledged and not hidden or forgotten or, what the British Government is doing, pushed to one side.

I am annoyed I did not contribute to last night's Seanad debate. I was watching it on the TV in my office because I felt it was more appropriate for colleagues like Senator Currie and others within my party with a more in-depth knowledge of it to contribute. It was wonderful to meet John Finucane last week and I look forward to working with him on this committee into the future. I hope from the bottom of my heart that he gets the answers he deserves before 30 November.