Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The Deputy has asked a number of questions and I will do my best to answer them all. The first question he raised was whether I recall his making the case to the British Government and senior British officials. Yes, I do. As he knows, I made that point strongly and I know he added to it. I think that has been noted in the British system. Obviously, I cannot comment on the reply he received but I know that the Secretary of State has taken up this matter on the two occasions to which I referred and he stated that the British would give full co-operation.

On the second question of whether I raised the matter with the British Government again since, I did so at the last meeting I had just a few weeks back on 19 January when I again emphasised that point. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Cowen, did so again to Secretary of State, Paul Murphy, at the recent meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference in Farmleigh. There is no doubt that the British side is aware of the concern of this House.

I hope that the assistance already referred to also extends to the work of the sub-committee if it seeks assistance. I hope that any requests for assistance or a presence before the committee would also receive full co-operation by the British.

Regarding a report providing information about our efforts in recent years, at least once or twice in every session since 1999 when the House agreed on the procedure to be followed, I have answered questions and reported on the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. All that I would have to say about the ongoing co-operation is already on the record of the Dáil and on public record. We have sought information from the British on many occasions. Mr. Justice Barron also asked for the assistance of the Government in arranging meetings and submissions on what he had got. He is before the committee today, so there is no need for me to answer the questions which he is answering elsewhere at the same time. I am sure he will give the committee full information on what he got or did not get for its report.

Regarding the files that are missing in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, whether they are duplicate or triplicate, the fact of the matter is that sensitive files relating to this issue have been missing for some years from the Department. I do not know the circumstances of how that happened, quite frankly. The full account had been given to the late Mr. Justice Hamilton some years ago because he discovered that aspect of the work, as I recall. Mr. Justice Barron has completed that work and this matter has been discussed with the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, the Garda Síochána and others and is detailed in the reports. A significant number of complete and detailed files are missing and have not been retrieved over the years. I cannot explain to the House why this happened and I will not try to do so. I will continue to give whatever assistance or support I can to see this and the other issues completed.

In a light-hearted vein, in reply to Deputy Ó Caoláin's last question, he is probably correct about other tribunals and inquiries but I find that any information of a confidential nature supplied by me to those tribunals seems to end up in the newspapers and so it is obviously not a case of its being lost.

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