Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)

The British Government refused the invitation of the Oireachtas committee which held hearings on that report. It has failed to act on the call of that committee, unanimously backed by the Oireachtas, to establish a form of inquiry into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. It has failed to have a resolution to this effect passed in the Houses of Parliament, as recommended by the Oireachtas. It has failed to act on the 2008 all-party motion.

It is well known that the Littlejohn brothers were British agents who carried out actions in this State designed to place the blame on republicans and to provoke a repressive response. The two of them were convicted for their involvement in that and their links with serving members of the Garda Special Branch were also exposed at the time. All of that was only the tip of the iceberg of British covert action in the 26 Counties in the period covered by the Barron report. The British must come clean.

Ms Susan Stanley spoke before the Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights Sub-Committee on the Barron Report. Her mother was six months pregnant with her when her brother Patrick was killed in Belturbet. Speaking on the day of publication of the second Barron report, she said: "If Bertie Ahern wants to act a puppet to Tony Blair, I won't and neither will my family."

As far as Sinn Féin is concerned, there is a responsibility upon Fine Gael and Labour, which, unfortunately, is not represented here this evening, to act on the motion that they endorsed in 2008 to now call upon the British Government to make all files available regarding the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. The British politicians who sanctioned the policy of collusion have not been held accountable. Just as culpable are those in this State who have consistently put their narrow self-interest above the national interest, the rights of Irish citizens living in the North and the peace process.

The British Government's refusal to co-operate with a range of inquiries into state and state-sponsored violence, even inquiries it itself set up, is symptomatic of a culture of concealment that infects the entire British system. When it set up the Saville inquiry into the events of Bloody Sunday, it obstructed that inquiry for a long period. It also obstructed the Barron inquiry into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings and it has refused to initiate a full and independent inquiry into a number of controversial killings. Fifteen years after the death of Mr. Pat Finucane his family is still waiting for the truth about his death and who sanctioned it. The British Government continues to withhold vital evidence in respect of numerous state and state-linked killings in the North. I call again on the Government and all parties in this House to not tolerate this any longer.

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