Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

Deputy Rabbitte has asked me the first question a number of times. I probably told him that it was the last report, but further information came about. I can understand the delay because of that, but it will not help us if we keep going on about the issue. I hope it will end in February, but I cannot be positive about that.

Our historical inquiries team is different because of the volume of cases involved, but the Garda now has a core group researching into cases like the murder of Councillor Eddie Fullerton. I am not sure of the total number of cases, but there is a detailed account on some of them. The historical inquiries team in Northern Ireland has thousands of cases and the situation is therefore different. We have had a look back on cases such as the Dundalk bombings and so on.

I had originally hoped that Mr. MacEntee would be able to move on from his report and deal with some of the other reports arising from it. He certainly will not do this, but I am not sure whether we will get an international figure to do it. The solution involving Judge Cory worked in that case, but I do not think it will work again. There was trouble in agreeing on a person, and then there was conflict about the report the person produced. I am referring to the Finucane case where we had an agreement, but after a certain date it was not accepted. There was an issue about the inquiry into that. I am not too sure if that is the difficulty. To be brutally frank, without the co-operation of the British authorities we cannot progress as far as we want on these issues. In all of these cases it is essential to have the co-operation of the British if we are to take matters further. I have made clear to them there is a process, but we have not identified as yet what it should be. I am reluctant just to pick one or two more cases because that does not end matters. We did that as regards the Cory reports. There was a view that by taking a few high profile cases on both sides, that would bring matters to an end. However, I can see the number of cases being extended. The Historical Enquiries Team together with work being done in the South will deal with many of the cases, but we must find some other way to bring closure to so many cases from a brutal past.

I am not satisfied we have found the best way to do that as yet, but I shall continue to engage with the British Government in this regard.

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