Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

The Taoiseach is very welcome. It is all very well for others to note it and giggle about it, but I will tell him.

To return to these other very important matters, on the Paul Quinn murder, the Taoiseach made his statement as the Government position on Mr. Quinn. Whatever the truth about Paul Quinn's involvement in criminal activity or otherwise — I understand it is very important to his family — for fear any confusion would arise, it is important that it is stated here today, not just based on the statements of the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, following his meeting with the family yesterday, that whether Paul Quinn was involved in criminal activity, what happened to him was an absolute outrage. I want to make that absolutely clear here today for fear that there would be some sense of difference in relation to whether he had or had not been so involved. It is absolutely important that it is clarified that irrespective of the full facts, which may reveal themselves in time, what happened was an outrage and should not have happened.

On the Taoiseach's contacts with the British Government regarding the need to initiate full inquiries into the various matters, I mentioned Pat Finucane and Rosemary Nelson, both of whom were within the Six Counties area of our country and therefore fell into that area currently under British jurisdiction. Regarding the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, however, and the murder of my party colleague, Councillor Eddie Fullerton, in his home in County Donegal, these are matters that occurred within this jurisdiction and there is clear evidence of collusion in relation to both of these matters and a number of other murders that occurred along the Border reaches and elsewhere.

Where stands the Government in the call of the Fullerton family and Justice for the Forgotten for the establishment of a full inquiry into the events of 17 May 1974, what led to it and what occurred subsequently, including the most incredible disappearance of the critical files from the so-called — I use that word purposely — Garda investigation? There is growing frustration and annoyance on the part of the families of the victims, those who suffered in those events and the family of my late colleague, Councillor Eddie Fullerton. Lives are moving on, people are getting older and the prospect of truth and justice being established in these cases appears even more remote with what appears to all those concerned and many others to be continued dithering on the part of the Taoiseach and the Government in taking the critical steps to establish the truth about those events.

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