Joe O'Reilly (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

This debate takes place in a significant week in history of Anglo-Irish relations. The visit of the Queen to this country this week is of enormous significance and it is a major part of the process of reconciliation between our countries and peoples and the people of this island. That is of extraordinary significance. It is a crucial phase of a very important process. It gives a real expression to the Anglo-Irish Agreement. It would be naïve to assume this is the end of the process or that we do not have more to do. Nevertheless, it is an enormous milestone on the road.

Among the major remaining issues is that which was aptly addressed in an all-party motion - the three bombs which went off in 1974 in Dublin and, 90 minutes after, the bomb in Monaghan town. Some 33 people lost their lives in that incident, with 100 injured. Seven of those people were from Monaghan. In July 2008 the Dáil unanimously urged the British Government to allow access to documents concerning the incident or any information it had. The Tánaiste recently raised this issue with the British authorities and the Taoiseach is raising the matter with British Prime Minister Cameron today. I put on record the desirability of both those interventions and that the Taoiseach is giving the issue priority today is in many ways an adequate answer to this motion. It is at least an important part of the answer and the response of Prime Minister Cameron will be very significant.

The Dublin and Monaghan bombings have not yet been adequately dealt with but they should be for the sake of the relatives. The pain and suffering remains and it is real for the relatives up to the present. We should address that issue. It is important for Prime Minister Cameron to respond positively to the Taoiseach and indicate the information will be laid out and dealt with. Prime Minister Cameron showed great leadership and vision in publicly apologising after the publication of the Saville report on the Bloody Sunday atrocity. It was a courageous, worthwhile and very important healing step, and a similar gesture on his part with regard to the Dublin and Monaghan bombings would be of enormous significance and importance. It is a necessary part of the process.

Archbishop Eames has made important points on the need for a forum of reconciliation to deal with the angst, hurt and pain on all sides of this equation. Some 3,600 people lost their lives throughout the period in question, which makes it critical that a healing process come about. The South African model has clearly worked in that context but there are other possibilities. We must look for a forum in which this can happen and it will be necessary for all sides to engage in it. Relatives require closure in order to ameliorate their pain. It is necessary to release the documents because of this and there should be full disclosure in that regard.

There have been a number of other atrocities and events in the Republic of Ireland which should be put on the record of this debate. In 1972 there was a bombing at Burgh Quay, where there were 40 injuries; on 1 December 1972 there were two car bombs in Dublin, which killed two people and injured 131; and in 1975 there were 14 injuries and one fatality in another incident. There was also a bombing in Belturbet and near Pettigo. As a representative and native of County Cavan, I make reference to the deaths of Geraldine O'Reilly and Patrick Stanley. The people involved need closure but there has been no closure on the Belturbet bombings either for the two teenagers who lost their lives. We need that closure.

The efforts of the Taoiseach with Prime Minister Cameron will be highly significant, as is this motion. The visit of Queen Elizabeth II is a declaration of good intent and is an enormous step on her part and in the process of reconciliation. The ultimate tribute we can pay to the victims of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, as well as those of Belturbet, Pettigo and everywhere there has been violence and death, is to work daily and every hour that we can to build the peace process and reconciliation within our communities. In particular, we must work to end sectarianism with every opportunity that is presented.

We must build a spirit of community and an infrastructure of peace. That will involve investment in certain areas and positive discrimination towards certain communities and areas. It will also involve many gestures. We all have a responsibility to build the peace, reconciliation and bridges between people. We must facilitate exchanges of peoples across borders and seas, as well as a regular interaction to build a peaceful society in future. There is no greater way to commemorate the victims of violence than that.

We require disclosure by the British Government on the issue and that will be key to the continuous building of the peace process. There should be no avoiding the subject. This call will be carried forward by the Taoiseach's meeting with Prime Minister Cameron and there will be subsequent diplomatic activity to achieve an outcome. This is the minimum required by relatives. They need a level of disclosure and truth. Allegations around collusion existed right up to the present and it is important that there be open disclosure on this and related issues. Relatives need such a process at a minimum but will also need to see a sense of recognition of their pain, a truthfulness regarding what has happened and the need to be part of a reconciliatory process. Ultimately, relatives want to see justice but the degree to which that can be practically achieved in the context of the time lag and related matters is unclear. In so far as justice can be seen to be achieved, it should come about.

Relatives deserve, at a minimum, apologies and a process of involvement, they are a pre-requisite. Those families which remain in suffering need that level of closure. It would be a great outcome from tonight's unanimous motion if there is a further step in that direction. Rather than cursing the darkness it is sometimes important to light a candle. Equally, we should recognise a half-full glass rather than one which is half empty. It might be no harm to recognise tonight that we have come on an enormous journey and achieved a significant amount. We have come a long way in the peace process and there are not many stumbling blocks remaining. This is one but there are only a few more to be scaled in order to rebuild a peace in which we can talk about these events as a distant history.

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