Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

I wish to share time with Deputy Crawford.

First I wish to express my sympathy to the relatives of the victims of terrorist atrocities which is the subject of the discussion, many of whom have come to listen to this debate. They have suffered a great deal but they have also been tireless in their efforts to establish the facts surrounding the loss of their loved ones. My colleagues and I have supported their calls for today's debate and I welcome everyone to the Dáil.

Notwithstanding that the party Whips have agreed to set time aside for statements on this important topic, I regret that we did not achieve an all-party motion which was my understanding and which was reported in the media. I am not sure of the circumstances surrounding what happened but I wish to place on record that in spite of what the Minister of State, Deputy Tom Kitt said, no formal contact was made with the Fine Gael Party with a view to agreeing or constructing a motion which would have given far greater effect to the debate taking place yesterday and today.

The victims of crime and terrorism and their families are often ignored, neglected and overlooked by official authorities and organs of State. The weak position of victims in Irish law is an issue that Fine Gael is striving to address, having recently published an extensive Private Members' Bill aimed at enhancing victims' rights and placing the victim at the centre of the justice system. In regard to the atrocities investigated by the Barron reports, the fact that the victims and their families were overlooked is exacerbated by the incompetent handling of the investigations into the various atrocities. Quite simply, the victims and their families were let down by the State. Today's Dáil statements are part of an effort to redress this wrong. We fully recognise the desire of victims and their families to establish the truth and the facts and not only to learn from what happened but to be able to piece together the difficult issues that remain outstanding.

I acknowledge the work of my colleagues on the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights in this area. Four sub-committees examined the four Barron reports and, reading the sub-committees' publications, it is obvious that a huge amount of work went into the committee hearings.

The legacy of the Troubles casts a long shadow over the lives of people on the island of Ireland. Nowhere is this more deeply felt than among the victims of violence and their relatives. I agree with much of what the Minister of State, Deputy Tom Kitt, has said in this regard. We have made great strides in moving on from a painful past when politically-motivated violence was a daily occurrence. The fully functioning power-sharing executive in Northern Ireland is a living testament to how far we have come in the past decade since the Good Friday Agreement was signed in April 1998.

A vital component of the peace process included a recognition that the suffering of victims of violence be recognised and addressed and, to this end, a victims commission was established, the work of which I acknowledge. The commission's 1999 report identified the need for further investigation into certain specific crimes, primarily the Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 1974, which was the worst single day of violence during the Troubles, but also including other bombings in Dublin, Dundalk and elsewhere; and the murder of Seamus Ludlow on 1 May 1976. That no prosecutions were made following these crimes has, naturally, been a cause of great distress to the victims' families.

The consequent establishment of what became known as the Barron inquiry constituted a key turning point for those who had sought an inquiry into atrocities perpetrated in the Republic during the Troubles. The detailed consideration of the Barron reports by the Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights, the establishment of the MacEntee inquiry and today's provision of time for statements in the Dáil underlines the commitment of the Oireachtas to honouring the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement, and, in particular, its recommendations in respect of the victims of violence during the Troubles. The purpose and value of any inquiry is not just to establish facts; it is vital that lessons be learned from the past. Where procedures and practices were shown to be flawed or wrong, it is essential that we learn from these and put mechanisms in place to improve systems.

The Government in power in 1974 at the time of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings has come in for severe criticism for its handling of the aftermath of the atrocities. While I recognise that in many cases criticism is warranted, it is impossible to judge the past by the standards of the present. The fact that it took 25 years for the victims of relatives of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings to secure a meeting with a Taoiseach gives some sense of the vital role played by the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 in creating the circumstances in which we could move forward into a better future while taking important lessons from the difficulties of the past. I understand the deeply felt desire of the families of the victims for truth and justice and I reaffirm the commitment of the Fine Gael Party to do all we can as Members of the Oireachtas to ensure that those responsible for the crimes investigated by the Barron and MacEntee reports are brought to justice.

The range of reports into various atrocities perpetrated during the Troubles, including the Barron, MacEntee and O'Loan reports, suggest that in some cases there was a degree of collusion between the security forces and loyalist paramilitaries. This shocking finding reminds us of the warped political culture that existed in Northern Ireland until very recently. The collusion by those entrusted with the safety of the citizens with terrorists in the murder of innocents is a gross violation of trust, principle and law and a situation that should never be tolerated by any Government. Collusion has exacerbated the suffering of victims of terrorism and their families and must be condemned in absolute terms.

From a personal point of view, as Fine Gael spokesperson on Justice, Equality and Law Reform, I am particularly concerned with the revelation of the MacEntee report into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings that the Garda Síochána failed to maintain the integrity of its files. This finding is extremely disturbing. The destruction or loss of documentation in regard to the bombings is totally unacceptable and can only add to the pain of the victims' relatives, friends and communities. It is vital that lessons are taken from this revelation and that we can ensure this never happens again. In recent years many changes have been introduced to the Garda Síochána as a result of various inquiries and tribunals and the essential import of maintaining files and carefully preserving evidence is underlined for us by the MacEntee report.

Notwithstanding our own bleak record to preserve documentation and evidence, like my colleagues, I am disappointed by the lack of co-operation from the British Government in regard to the attempts by the Irish Government to investigate atrocities carried out here during the Troubles. I acknowledge what the Taoiseach said and I urge him and his colleagues to do all they can to secure the release of the necessary documents from the British Government archives and files. I hope that a mechanism can be found through the various British-Irish bodies, in particular, the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body, of which my colleague, Deputy Crawford, has for many years been a proud and active member. I was a member of the body myself. Perhaps consideration might be given at some level towards moving on matters through the auspices of that body. I hope the Taoiseach will avail of the opportunity presented by his meetings with Prime Minister Gordon Brown to ensure we can advance this issue which, regrettably, has been neglected by the British authorities.

I again express my sympathy to the families of the victims. I understand the need on their behalf and on behalf of all of us for the establishment of the facts in regard to the loss of loved ones in order to achieve closure and honour their memories in an acceptable way. Fine Gael will continue to support the victims in that quest.

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