Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)

As my party colleague, Deputy Cuffe, has already stated, the Green Party supports this motion calling for the establishment of a tribunal of inquiry into the deaths of Superintendents Breen and Buchanan and possible Garda collusion. It is somewhat ironic that one of the two murder victims shares the surname of a relatively iconic figure in Irish history who participated in the War of Independence and the Civil War. This is probably one of hundreds of ironies that have bedevilled the history of conflicts on this island in the last century. Of course in moral terms, as much as anything, we have an obligation to investigate crimes of this nature and to ensure the allegations are fully investigated and if proven, acted upon in the most responsible way.

As my colleague also stated, the Green Party has some concerns in terms of the wider aspect of investigating the many instances of outrage that have not been properly investigated in all parts of this island as regards the involvement, in particular, of judicial forces. There are other elements of this conflict which relate to extra-judicial forces that cannot account for themselves in the same way. Those of us who form the apparatus of or man the agencies of the State have a particular democratic responsibility in ensuring that allegations and practices of this type do not occur. The danger is that there has been a difference in approach as regards many of the necessary investigations and tribunals, depending on the mover of the inquiry. To its credit, the Irish Government has moved more speedily and in a better direction than others involved in satisfying much of the uncertainty surrounding such incidences. Unfortunately that lack of parallel development hinders the full resolution of all these incidences. As a responsible Opposition party, the Green Party intends to play its part in ensuring matters are progressed and in offering the Government any support it can in this regard.

We believe, however, that the wider picture may be better determined if we embrace the South African truth and justice commission model, because of the number of incidences that needs to be properly brought out into the open. There is a need for a proper mechanism which will allow the truth to be told, properly recorded and moved on from. The piecemeal approach is leading us into cul-de-sacs where fingers can be pointed and active and fevered imaginations are given full rein in determining who is working against whom in asking for such tribunals. On all these grounds, while supporting this particular motion for the setting up of a tribunal, we ask the Government to use whatever mechanism it can in the current state of the process between the British Government and other actors, as regards the Northern Ireland peace process, to investigate and promote the model that seems to have worked so well in South Africa. That is probably the best mechanism for overcoming the dozens if not hundreds of incidences that still require proper explanations.

This tribunal of inquiry will only go part of the way towards arriving at some manner of explanation to account for these two needless, yet sadly significant, deaths.

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