Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The debate we are about to hold in this House is on a matter of the greatest national importance. It is about a series of atrocities perpetrated on innocent people in our country, including the bombings of May 1974 in Dublin and Monaghan, which saw the greatest loss of life on a single day during the Troubles. It is about murder, pure and simple and responsibility for that murder. It is about justice for victims and about how victims and survivors were and are treated. Certainly, it is about the past, but it is also about the future.

To move forward to a better future, we need to understand what happened on this island over nearly 40 years of senseless violence. Today's debate is part of that process. It is, first and foremost, about honouring and remembering those who died in the violence of the Troubles, particularly the victims of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings and of the attacks in Dundalk and in the Border region in the 1970s which were the subject of Mr. Justice Barron's reports.

As well as remembering the many lives lost, we must reflect on many more victims and survivors who are permanently scarred, both physically and mentally. Many of those people are here today in the Public Gallery. This debate in our national Parliament is about those people. It is about their loved ones and about those issues that matter to them. Over the years, I have met many of the victims and survivors of these atrocities and I know that many others in the House have too. I have listened carefully to their stories and tried to understand their pain as best I can. I have tried, through the office of Taoiseach, and through my colleagues in Government, to do all I can to address all of the issues they have raised.

No two testimonies are the same, but I have always been touched by the depth of feeling and the continuing sense of pain and loss shared by those injured and grieving. Their experiences demand to be heard, recognised and remembered in our wider society. We have an obligation to those who suffered most in the conflict and we have an obligation to our society as a whole. This was recognised a decade ago in the Good Friday Agreement, which affirmed that "it is essential to acknowledge and address the suffering of the victims of violence as a necessary element of reconciliation" and recognised "that victims have a right to remember as well as to contribute to a shared society".

We have to build on the foundations which have been laid to ensure a stable, fair, inclusive and peaceful island where our children can look forward to happy and productive lives. We have always acknowledged that this must not and, indeed, cannot be achieved by sidelining victims or by drawing a curtain of silence and secrecy over the events of the past. Most important, it is the victims themselves, their representatives and the centrality of their experiences which are crucial to hopes for a better future, by ensuring we do not forget the mistakes and evils of the past.

I would like to acknowledge the work already undertaken in this jurisdiction, including by the Victims Commissioner, the late Mr. John Wilson, by the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation and by the Remembrance Commission and Fund. The commission's term has recently been extended, reflecting the fact that the needs of victims and survivors must continue to be properly met. We had a generation or more of violence and, as with the broader process of reconciliation and transformation that is under way, these are issues that will have to be properly and actively addressed for many years to come. In so far as we have responsibility in this jurisdiction, the Government will ensure that this will be so.

We will also continue to work on these issues with our colleagues in Northern Ireland. I welcome the appointment by the Northern Ireland Executive of the new team of victims commissioners earlier this week. I recently met Mrs. McDougall, the former interim victims commissioner and I am sure that she and her new colleagues will take up their new task with the energy and sensitivity it requires and deserves. I also welcomed the establishment by the British Government last summer of the consultative group on dealing with the past, headed by Mr. Denis Bradley and Archbishop Robin Eames. I was pleased to meet that group in Dublin in November.

It is appropriate to reflect, in this new context, on what is possible in terms of addressing the legacy of the past and I believe the consultative group can have an important role. At the same time, I do not underestimate the difficulty of the task in a situation where the very definition of the conflict and of the term victim is so contested. I am sure the group will learn much from the work undertaken by Mr. Justice Barron, by the Oireachtas sub-committee and by victims groups in this jurisdiction.

One of the most important issues for victims and survivors is the simple need to know the truth about what happened. For many, the knowledge that a neighbour was involved in the killing of a loved one is an additional burden to bear. For others, the knowledge that members of the security forces were involved adds to their pain. The suspicion that they were somehow involved in the commission of a crime or in ensuring that nobody was brought to justice is often the greatest injustice. It is almost impossible to imagine how that must feel or how to help deal with such appalling situations.

As the House is aware, we have established a number of inquiries into matters that are within this jurisdiction. When we began this process with the appointment of the late Chief Justice, Mr. Justice Liam Hamilton, at the beginning of 2000, nobody thought we would be discussing the culmination of this work in 2008. It has taken us eight solid years of detailed work and examination of all of the files that were available in this jurisdiction. Many Departments were involved and the Ceann Comhairle was very helpful at the early stage, assisting us in the gathering and bringing together of the information.

This has been a long and difficult journey. Questions remain unanswered, but much has been achieved. We now have much more information about who was responsible for these attacks than we had at the outset. We know more about the circumstances in which the attacks were carried out and about the investigations of these crimes and where those investigations failed. We must recall that when we revisited this issue, the investigation of these cases, in particular the 1974 bombings, closed up a matter of months after the events, with no further work done until 26 years later. That was probably the most difficult issue, the fact that more than 25 years had elapsed and the files for the biggest atrocities that had happened in the Troubles were closed in August 1974. The Ceann Comhairle will recall that was the position in which we found ourselves when we started on the road of re-examination. The lapse of time was a considerable disadvantage but it did not stop the enormous amount of work that was undertaken in the past eight years.

In some cases, theories that had been advanced over the years have been tested in a thorough and systematic way to the best extent possible, given the information available. Thanks to the work of the joint committee, the testimonies and experiences of victims and their families have been heard publicly in an appropriate way. Many of the individuals and groups have interacted with Mr. Justice Hamilton and Mr. Justice Barron and made submissions over the period. Where it was appropriate in the light of those investigations, formal apologies have been made by the Garda Síochána and Ministers. In meetings with victims and survivors, I have offered my apologies on behalf of the Government for mistakes made in the past. I wish to place that once more formally on the record of the House today.

For many families, their pain was heightened by the suspicion or knowledge that perhaps agents of the State, whose duty it is to protect its citizens and promote the rule of law, had played some part in the loss they had suffered. In too many cases, official denials and contested facts made things worse and had a negative impact on confidence in policing and the administration of justice. Of course, the question of collusion between the security forces and terrorists in perpetrating these attacks has always been a central unanswered question. Sadly, in many cases that remains the case to this day. We have consistently called on the British Government to meet its responsibilities to co-operate with inquiries in this State and to help the process of uncovering the truth about what happened. I repeat the call in the House today that I have made many times here and elsewhere.

The willingness of the British authorities to co-operate with the various inquiries has been tested and in many cases found wanting. We tried to address these issues by establishing inquiries in certain important and representative cases in discussions with the British Government at Weston Park in July 2001. For our part, we have abided by the commitment to establish the inquiry into the murders of Harry Breen and Bob Buchanan, which is now proceeding under Judge Smithwick. While inquiries are under way in the cases of Robert Hamill, Rosemary Nelson and Billy Wright, the inquiry into the death of Pat Finucane has not been established by the British Government. The House and the Government have made clear our view that a proper independent inquiry must be established as recommended by Judge Cory. I again repeat that call today. While I regret that all of our efforts to date have not been fully successful for the victims, that does not mean we will give up trying to get those commitments honoured. I know we have the support of the entire House in that regard.

In more recent years, the valuable work of the Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland has uncovered further clear evidence of collusion. For example, the detailed report into the killing of Raymond McCord was truly shocking, even for those who had long suspected the level of collusion. It also proved that the issue of collusion matters to all of us and to all communities in Northern Ireland. It is not a purely Nationalist concern, as has been eloquently demonstrated by Raymond's father's campaign for justice for his son. He has met my officials and me a number of times.

As we speak of dealing with the past, I am acutely conscious that no strategy or formula, however inventive, can diminish that sense of loss or undo the harm that has been done. We need to constantly remember the sheer scale of the horror and loss that was visited on so many families during the Troubles. More than 3,700 people lost their lives during the Troubles, while more than 40,000 suffered injury. We must constantly remind ourselves of the appalling price that many people have paid over these long years — the loss of life, the injury, trauma, psychological damage and lost opportunities suffered and endured by people from all walks of life, of all ages and from all traditions. Nobody has a monopoly on suffering or victimhood, as I have said many times.

When we speak of collusion, it is also essential to remember that many members of the security forces and their families underwent terrible pain and suffering arising from the conflict. When we contemplate the vicious attacks on the Catholic community along the Border, we must also remember the equally vicious attacks on members of the Protestant community in that same area. The families of those who died know better than anyone that pain and despair do not distinguish on the basis of political belief, religion or any other human attribute. The pain is felt by the relatives of the dead in Belfast, Derry, Enniskillen, Omagh, rural County Armagh and so many other places that have become so tragically associated with death and suffering. Many of the people who died in Dublin, Monaghan and Dundalk were from counties all over the South. It pierces the hearts of victims and survivors in those places as much as it does those victims who are with us today and whom I have gotten to know over the years.

The enormous political progress of recent years cannot wipe away our memory of the dreadful consequences of all violence — the loss of trust, the damage done to community relations, the undermining of confidence in the administration of justice and, perhaps the greatest price, the entrenchment and deepening of divisions between the two communities in Northern Ireland and between the two traditions on this island.

We need to understand that collusion occurred. We need to understand how that was allowed to happen so that we can ensure it never happens again. We need to understand why it matters, not just to victims but to all of society, so that we build a sustainable, peaceful future. It is essential that the impressive gains made in policing reform and accountability and the growing cross-community confidence in the transformed policing environment in Northern Ireland are consolidated for the future. The work of the new Police Service of Northern Ireland, the Historical Enquiries Team, the Northern Ireland Policing Board and the Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland are all essential to a better future. The completion of British demilitarisation is another tremendous sign of hope. The completion of the devolution project through the transfer of policing and justice powers from Westminster as agreed at St. Andrews will be a further essential step.

We have reached a profoundly positive new stage in the peace process in Northern Ireland. Relationships between Unionism and Nationalism, between North and South on this island and between these islands have never been better. What drives us all now is the realisation that never again should our people experience and bear witness to a terrible conflict. The work of reconciliation must continue. The victims and survivors must be as much a part of the future as they are of the past.

I promised this debate in the autumn. I promised that, starting on the first day back of this session, we would have an opportunity today and tomorrow for people to air their views. This does not end our work or any of the processes in which we have been involved, but it honours the commitment to bring the issue before the House. It was not possible to do so in the autumn of 2007, but we have the opportunity today.

The ongoing work in handling these issues continues. The Government Whip and the Government will continue to deal with these matters, as the Ministers for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and Foreign Affairs have worked to do. As part of what we are doing, I welcome this debate and the views which will be expressed by Members today and tomorrow. My officials, people in other relevant Departments and I will continue to deal with the issues as we have been doing.

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