Ms Margaret Urwin:

I thank the Chairman. The committee has kindly invited us to discuss our work with it. I will make a brief opening statement to set the context around our discussions.

At present the main focus of work for Justice for the Forgotten is Operation Denton, which is the review by Mr. Jon Boutcher, the former Chief Constable of Bedfordshire in England, into the Glenanne series of murders. Regarding those we represent, these include the Dublin-Monaghan bombings in 1974, the Dundalk bombing in 1975, the Castleblayney bombing in 1976 and the murder of John Francis Green in 1975, which all occurred in this jurisdiction. We also represent the families of the members of the Miami Showband murders, which took place in Northern Ireland in 1975.

Not all of the cases whose families we support come under the Operation Denton umbrella so they are, unfortunately, left in a bit of a limbo situation. With regard to the Dublin-Monaghan bombings, we are still pursuing a civil case in the High Court in Belfast. Other cases await a decision on the admissibility issue in this case. The Glenanne series of cases is also being investigated by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland.

Mr. Boutcher and his team have now been in contact with the vast majority our family members and survivors. They have taken detailed statements from them on the impact on their lives after the loss of their loved ones and the lasting effects of the injuries sustained by the survivors.

While Covid has impacted considerably on the work of Operation Denton, nevertheless good progress is being made and they have received and are continuing to receive good co-operation from the PSNI and the relevant entities in Britain. Unfortunately, there has been a problem in gaining access to the Garda files. Mr. Boutcher was advised that the Garda Commissioner had received legal advice that the material could not be handed over because Operation Denton is essentially a review and not an investigation.

We had a meeting with senior officials from the Department of Justice and the Department of Foreign Affairs this week. Following that meeting, we are hopeful that the problem can be resolved. The Department of Justice is seeking legal advice on the issue from the Attorney General. If the advice from the Attorney General is that the files cannot be made available under current legislation, then the Department has committed to having the necessary new legislation passed by the Oireachtas and they have agreed to seek priority for such legislation to be enacted.

Mr. Boutcher has liaised with the Garda Commissioner on this issue since last April and we believe it should have been resolved months ago. We have impressed upon the officials with whom we met the urgency of this matter. All of the lives lost were lost almost half a century ago and family members are dying every year. It is ironic that now the families have the best chance of learning the truth as to why their loved ones were mown down by no-warning bombs that the delay in providing information has come from so close to home. Another critical reason for haste is that the British Government may very soon introduce legislation in Westminster, which will close down all avenues to truth and justice for all victims. Mr. Brecknell will have a lot to say about that.