Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion and thank the Taoiseach for agreeing with my party leader to bring it forward on an all-party basis today.

None us will ever forget Bloody Sunday, and the sight of Fr. Daly trying to bring about peace in whatever way he could. We heard all the accusations and all the comments about who had done what and who was at fault. We had the Widgery report and we now have the Saville report. The Saville report led, most important, to the statement by the British Prime Minister, Mr. Cameron, who clearly and distinctly apologised on behalf of his Government and the English people for what had been done.

I am certain that not only did those 14 people die innocently, as a direct result many other atrocities happened that might not have if Bloody Sunday had not happened. I have heard many people say that it was as a result of that day that they joined the IRA and that other things then happened. We have much to thank Lord Saville for.

We must also find a way forward. We have discussed the Dublin-Monaghan bombings in this House and unfortunately there has been very little support from the British Government when it comes to resolving this issue. I have publicly stated that there are people who have refused to come forward, it is an ongoing issue that must be resolved.

We can all think of the other atrocities that have had consequences for all sides in Northern Ireland and the Border counties. More than 3,500 were killed and I congratulate the Taoiseach for mentioning the tens of thousands who were injured. People do not need to lose a limb in a bombing or see a loved one murdered, they had damage done to their way of thinking and their everyday lives. As someone who had a brother who worked for a church there, I have no doubt many people much died earlier because of cancer and other problems than they would have otherwise.

We must move forward and in that context, Deputy Kenny, Deputy McHugh and I went to Belfast to hold discussions with bodies such as Cooperation North. The people in that organisation pointed out how they are trying to deal with some of the issues there. I was in Glencree with some colleagues on Friday and Saturday at a workshop where there were people from the extremes on both sides who spelled out the difficulties and what must be done.

This is all a work in progress and the Saville report has helped. I thank my own moderator and other Protestant clergy for the role they played; it was significant and I hope we can all move forward to a more peaceful society, with structures that will give some satisfaction and comfort to those who lost so many over the last 30 years.

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