Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)

It is important when dealing with the unresolved issues around bombings in this State to bear in mind the context in which they took place. In particular, it can be seen the extent to which the conflict in the North, which obviously then had a massive impact on this side of the Border, was driven by the British state and elements under its control. We are all aware of the reaction to the civil rights movement, which the Unionists, along with loyalists, attempted to destroy through force and repression. That led to the introduction of internment and culminated in the events of Bloody Sunday in January 1972. There were other instances of force being used in an attempt to make Nationalists in the Six Counties lie down.

It is clear from what we know of the activities of the British forces in Ireland at the time, through the revelations of Fred Holroyd, Colin Wallace and others, that they were pursuing the type of counter-insurgency campaign in which they had been involved in other conflicts where British colonial authority had been challenged. That strategy led to a litany of events directly involving members of the British forces and pseudo gangs under their control, the Miami Showband killings being just one of those incidents. British strategy at the time also motivated them to become directly involved in this State both through its intelligence agencies and through individuals who have been referred to such as the Littlejohns. That intervention reached into the ranks of Garda Special Branch, although we are still not fully aware of how high that went. We know that the intelligence ring controlled by Wyman had access to top level intelligence from within the Special Branch and that intelligence was used among other purposes to organise some of the activities engaged in by the Littlejohns. In Dublin, £67,000 was taken in an armed raid of which they were subsequently convicted.

The object of all that was clearly to influence the framing of policy in this State and the bombings of December 1972 were successful in achieving that aim. As anyone familiar with the history of that period will know, the explosions that led to fatalities in Sackville Place coincided with a debate in this House on the proposed new Offences Against the State Bill. It had appeared that the legislation would be defeated until news of the bombing led Fine Gael to change its stance and the party's abstention in the vote allowed the Bill to pass. If my recollection is correct, Liam Cosgrave crossed the floor of the House to vote with the Government.

The intent of those who had organised the bombing had been realised. If, as many suspect, British intelligence was directly involved in planning the bombing, it marks an unbelievable interference in the workings of another state. Suspicions of that involvement were there from the beginning and the then Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, outlined his view in August 1973 that the British services had been involved. What he neglected to mention but was forced to later was that he also knew of the fact that the Littlejohns and others had been working for British intelligence within the jurisdiction. Evidence of that emerged soon after the Dublin bombings of December 1972 when John Wyman, an MI6 officer, and his contact within the Special Branch, Patrick Crinnion, were arrested. Crinnion was found to be in possession of confidential documents. While this might have led to the exposure of the entire spy network, the hearings were held in camera, however, and a deal was made which resulted in Crinnion and Wyman being handed over to the British in return for the extradition here of the two Littlejohns.

It would be naive, however, to believe that this marked an end to British intelligence activities of that nature within the State. The bombings of 1974 strongly point to connections between those responsible and the British services and no doubt there continued to be infiltration and intervention in many other aspects of life in this State. That is why it is important, as others have called for during this debate, that we establish a full commission of inquiry to examine all the remaining questions regarding the involvement of the British intelligence services in events such as the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. That should be conducted in a spirit of seeking the truth and bringing some solace to the relatives of victims rather than to score political or historical points.

That has been the attitude of the republican movement in its dealing with events in the past. Such an inquiry would require the handing over of files related to the Dublin and Monaghan bombings and other events, which the Taoiseach indicated yesterday he would request during his meeting with David Cameron. I also hope any documentary or oral evidence that exists in this jurisdiction relating to these matters will be made available.

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