Tom Kitt (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this very important debate. I use the word "debate" deliberately. There has been some discussion on the issue of having statements. I wish to assure especially those in the Visitors Gallery and families of victims that this is an important debate affording people a chance to air their views and bring these issues into the public domain. As the Taoiseach has said, we can then decide collectively where we go from here.

With the extraordinary developments we have seen in Northern Ireland over the past year, no one on this island can doubt that this generation has an opportunity like no other — an opportunity for an inclusive society, a peaceful life and an agreed future, recognising the legitimate rights and aspirations of all. Our present and our future have not looked so bright for a long time as we would all agree. With that opportunity comes a profound responsibility. We must seize this chance and build on it. We must, in the words of the Good Friday Agreement, achieve the "peaceful and just society that would be the true memorial to the victims of violence". It is not an easy or a straightforward task. We must ensure that the future is built on stable foundations. In a democratic society, that means respect for truth, justice, human rights, accountability and transparency.

In a peaceful society, that means a collective commitment to good relations across divisions. It can also challenge people to move forward to some degree from the confrontation of the past to a shared future. In this moment of achievement and optimism, it is entirely appropriate that we look at the legacy of the past and how we might address it anew, in a way that will contribute to continuing and imbedding this process of positive change. To get there, we must look again at the awful legacies of the Troubles. First is the appalling human loss — of life, of loved ones, of wholeness of heart and of body. These cannot be made right. We are left simply with the duty to meet as fully as we can the lasting physical and psychological needs of those who have suffered most. The wider social and economic legacies of distrust and separation, sectarianism and deprivation, are enormous challenges that must be faced. Lingering questions are outstanding from the past as are contested histories and justifications that sow division in the present. Unsolved murders leave families in a cruel limbo, without closure or peace.

It is the allegations of State collusion that are perhaps the most difficult, casting shadows as they do, both on the families of victims as well as on the relationship of trust and the duty of care between citizen and State.

The Oireachtas has played a valuable role in bringing to light such events. Following a recommendation from the victims' commissioner, the late John Wilson, the Government established an independent commission of inquiry in 2000, initially led by the late Mr. Justice Liam Hamilton and subsequently by Mr. Justice Henry Barron. Its purpose was to undertake a thorough examination of certain atrocities committed by loyalist paramilitaries in this jurisdiction, including the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, the murder of Seamus Ludlow and the bombing of Kay's Tavern. The commission produced four reports, each of which was subsequently considered by a sub-committee of the Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights. The sub-committee published each of the Barron reports in the course of its work and held public hearings. A corresponding series of four reports from the committee were published, which contained some stark findings.

The committee also acknowledged that the failure to make definitive conclusions in respect of the role of the security forces exacerbated the pain and suffering of the victims and their relatives. I wish to extend my condolences to those relatives, some of whom are in the Visitors Gallery. It is not our intention that our discussion would re-open wounds but we wish to help shine a light on the way forward. It is therefore important that their anxiety for truth and justice, arising from these reports, is widely understood. This is the reason the Taoiseach has asked the British Government to examine the findings of the Barron, Oireachtas sub-committee and MacEntee inquiries and this debate underlines that concern. This is a matter which the Government will pursue relentlessly.

We also remember just how difficult and deep-seated a conflict it was and how important it has been to change the political and security context in Northern Ireland. Policing and justice reform was an essential part of the Good Friday Agreement and one of its great successes. It was a project to reform the police and create an institution representative of, and working effectively for, all the people of Northern Ireland.

It was an enormous and emotive task to restore confidence across the community and build relationships around what had been a front line of conflict. It required considerable courage and vision by political leaders and by members of the police and security forces.

The construction of effective institutions of accountability and public representation was absolutely crucial. I pay tribute to the role of Nuala O'Loan as Police Ombudsman. I was privileged to meet her when I visited Northern Ireland as Minister for State at the Department of Foreign Affairs. I pay tribute to the independence, integrity and fearlessness she showed and which did so much to build the trust of the public in this new era of policing.

The policing board and district policing partnerships have also played a crucial role. Through the leadership of the SDLP and since last year with the decision of Sinn Féin to nominate members, relationships have been developed which have introduced new levels of responsiveness and transparency to policing. This is also shown by the efforts of the Police Ombudsman and the PSNI historical inquiries team to address outstanding cases from the past. As a result the context in Northern Ireland has been changed utterly. A new consensus on policing and justice adds greatly to the stability of the institutions and the stability and security of everyone. We must ensure that in questioning the events of the past, we do not ignore the achievements. Once more, the first reaction to failures and wrongdoing must be to ensure that measures are put in place to prevent them happening again and extraordinary progress has been made.

I look to the consultative group on the past, chaired by Lord Eames and Denis Bradley, to come forward with proposals on all the issues under discussion. It will be of great importance to look at the question of dealing with the past in a comprehensive way and I commend the group for its wide consultation.

There are examples from across the world of how difficult periods from the past have been addressed by different countries. I refer to South Africa and East Timor. I remind the Acting Chairman that he and I spent some time as parliamentarians in the southern African region dealing with many of these issues of healing the past.

We have examined the structures in place in other countries. I remember being in East Timor when I was Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and working with people such as Tom Hyland and others who were working closely with NGOs on the ground. They were dealing with the transition from a period of violence to one of peace. Irish Aid was known at that time as Irish Development Co-operation and it funded this process. The move from conflict to a peaceful society has been a challenge to deal with in South Africa, East Timor and in many other parts of the world. We have spoken to many people in these countries and studied how they have dealt with such situations. We can learn from each other. These are sensitive, complex issues but they all point to one fact, that we must get to the truth.

The variety of these approaches in different parts of the world confirms that any mechanism we might consider will have to take full account of the unique situation and nature of the conflict and settlement. Any new comprehensive approach will have strengths and weaknesses, difficulties and opportunities and it is only through proper consultation and dialogue that a way forward can be agreed, and it must be agreed. This is not an area where something can be pushed through or imposed from any quarter. We must recognise the great diversity of views on this question.

Everyone who has suffered has the right to be heard, North and South, elsewhere in these islands, victims in cases of collusion and victims of terrorist bombs. In all these cases those who simply wish to know the facts of what happened to their loved one, must be heard. Those who want to see the perpetrator of their own awful loss tried and put in jail, must be heard. Those who just want to tell the story of what happened to them and for it to be acknowledged and remembered, must be heard. Those who want nothing for themselves except to take their own suffering and story and make it part of a wider reconciliation, must be heard. Those who simply want to forget, to stop the debate on the past and be left to their own mourning and their own lives, must be heard. All these voices will be raised and listened to with emotion. Often people will hear only the other side being talked about and they will see selectivity and political motives at work. Sometimes they will be right and if the discussion is approached in a spirit of confrontation or sterile recrimination, then it will achieve nothing. However, I have heard many inspiring voices of those who have suffered most. I have heard many people who have experienced unspeakable suffering say that they wish to move on, that reconciliation not retribution is needed. I have heard straightforward requests for more services to help them cope, more facts to help them understand and more recognition by politicians of what has to be done to ensure their tragedy never happens to another family.

With the progress we have seen since last year it is perhaps a time when the questions of what we do from here can be asked with more generosity and openness than before and with a genuine mutual respect and the objective of a shared and honest understanding of our recent past. This objective has been taken forward by the work of a great number of civil society and community groups across Northern Ireland. This is a vital part of this public debate. It is a dialogue beyond the political level, inclusive of the whole of the society and within local communities most affected by the conflict.

I commend to the House the work of Healing Through Remembering, a cross-community organisation bringing together representatives from North and South and Britain, of victims' groups, churches, academics, community and youth organisations. They have produced reports and recommendations on issues including truth recovery, commemoration, acknowledgement and story telling.

These are thoughtful and well-researched documents that deserve careful consideration. They would serve as a very useful reference for the work of the consultative group on the past. There are no easy or straightforward answers to these issues. However, I am confident that this House, and the people in general have a positive role to play in this debate and in this collective effort to ensure the peace we have found on this island is a just and a lasting one.

See this speech in context