Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The National Archives has legislation, procedures and a budget for dealing with these issues so I do not want to answer on its behalf. State papers are released under the National Archives Act and provide historians with valuable insights into the Government's consideration of the events of 30 years previously. I am sure those analysing these historical records will find the State papers a valuable research resource.

I know from officials in my Department that they make every effort to ensure that documents are released in their entirety where possible. In particular, they have sought, wherever possible, to release papers relating to the political contacts between the Irish and British Governments and the policy considerations of the Government of the time. These are key historical records and the area in which historians are interested. My officials also sought to minimise any redactions within the documents that were released so that they would be fully accessible to readers.

I am not involved in this process, which is entirely conducted by authorised officials within the provisions of the Act. I do not have control over the staff of the National Archives who do a good job in assisting historians and members of the public in accessing records.

Information that is held back is not done so out of embarrassment. Thirty years ago, people in communities in Northern Ireland or in the Border region may have written letters containing facts or information they believed to be of a security nature. Some of these people or members of their families are still alive. Such instances, where people offered their view of sensitive information, are considered under the Act to be files that could create distress to individuals or their families or to present a danger or defamation.

Such people acted in good faith at a time of conflict and great difficulties in their areas. This provision is included in the legislation to protect that type of information so that people who thought they were being helpful at the time are not involved in conflict 30 years later. Only a small number of files are involved. They relate not to policy issues but to judgments of individuals, right or wrong, on the security situation at the time. It would be unfair ever to release those papers. I do not know what purpose would be served in doing so. Perhaps it might make no difference to release them in 75 years under the European Court of Human Rights rule but I do not see what purpose that would serve.

A total of 55 files on Northern Ireland were released to the National Archives this year. Only two of these were withheld under the European Court of Human Rights rule, 44 were released entirely without redactions, and 11 were released with redactions. Such redactions generally relate to the names of individuals. Of the 11 redacted files, 36 documents out of those files were affected.

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