Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I thank the Taoiseach for raising the issues of the Ballymurphy killings, the Dublin-Monaghan bombings and the killing of Pat Finucane with the British Prime Minister, Mr. Cameron. I would like to recap the position. Sunday next will be the 23rd anniversary of the killing of Pat Finucane. His family have been campaigning since his death occurred. Sinn Féin is totally against any hierarchy of victims and has argued for an independent international commission to consider all of these cases and deal with the various victims and those who were hurt in the course of the conflict. In this instance, however, the British Government has acknowledged that there was collusion. Every member of the squad which killed Pat Finucane - an officer of the court and a human rights lawyer - was either a member of the British Army or an RUC special branch agent. There is no doubt at all about that.

The British Administration is currently in breach of the Weston Park agreement, an accord between the two Governments. The Dublin-Monaghan bombings occurred almost 40 years ago and successive British Governments refused to deal with any of the inquiries or investigations into them. In the case of the Ballymurphy killings, there is no doubt the British paratroop regiment killed all of the citizens involved and then went on to Derry to kill more on Bloody Sunday. Its members then went to Belfast and killed further civilians on the Shankill Road, on Springhill Avenue and in other parts of the city.

The Government must develop a strategy for dealing with these matters. It is a deeply traumatising obstacle to the furtherance of the peace process if these citizens are left outside it and if the British Government, which is clearly responsible for the killings to which I refer, is not prepared to give the families involved their entitlements. I ask the Taoiseach to develop a strategy such as that to which I refer. He stated at one point that he would raise this matter with the relevant people in the USA and seek their support. It is clear that Prime Minister Cameron has no responsibility for events which took place almost 40 years ago and others which occurred 23 years ago. However, the fact that he will not deal with the issue poisons the relationship between the British Government and a new, changing Ireland which is putting war behind it. I appeal to the Taoiseach to come forward with a strategy.

Justice for the Forgotten is a group which comprises the families of the victims of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings and which is not being provided with funding. We refer to victims, we deplore what occurred and we try to ensure that events of this nature will never happen again. Surely, therefore, the group to which I refer should be at least given the minimum amount of funding it requires. Sinn Féin Teachtaí Dála from Dublin, Deputy Ó Caoláin and I have raised this matter a dozen times in the House. I ask the Taoiseach to provide a commitment that the minimum amount of money this group requires to continue its work will be given to it by the Government.

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