Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

On 6 July, the Federal Court of Appeal for the First Circuit in the US upheld the subpoena issued by the British Government relating to the Northern Ireland oral history project held in Boston College. As a result, Boston College must give police the recordings by its researchers of oral history project discussions and talks with Dolours Price by next month, after an appeals court in the US rejected an effort to stop the release. Boston College in Massachusetts is still trying to quash a broader order for other materials from its projects. I understand that lawyers representing the journalists behind the Boston College interviews with former paramilitaries have requested an urgent and immediate hearing in Belfast in a bid to block testimony being handed over to the Police Service of Northern Ireland, PSNI, and a hearing is expected this week in Belfast.

Subpoenas were issued to Boston College at the request of the British Government under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, MLAT, between the US and the UK. The subpoenas are part of an investigation by the UK authorities into the 1972 abduction and death of Jean McConville, who disappeared and was murdered in the most appalling circumstances.

A number of issues arise. First, one could argue there has been a refusal to face up to the issues surrounding the conflict in Northern Ireland and a failure to be more honest with the families, particularly the families of those who disappeared, such as the family of Mrs. Jean McConville. The issue that has arisen in this context concerns the oral history project and the clear decision of the courts in the United States that academic confidentiality does not trump criminal investigations. This is an important decision and I can understand it.

Bearing in mind the history of Northern Ireland, one must acknowledge that while there are those who, last week, welcomed the decision to have a criminal investigation into activities of soldiers regarding the murders that took place on Bloody Sunday in Derry many years ago, there are also those who will want to see every effort made to investigate fully the abduction and murder of Mrs. Jean McConville. That said, the authors of the history project now feel their lives are at risk because of the court's decision, which comprises a serious issue in its own right. It is felt bringing closure and arriving at the truth will be jeopardised by the decision.

The balance must come down on the side of pursuing the issue on behalf of the McConville family. Various parties in the North have said we need a forum of reconciliation or a truth commission. They have put forward various ideas, knowing in all honesty that they will never come to fruition. We need an admission that, since 1974, nearly 1,700 people were killed or murdered by the Provisional IRA. People should acknowledge that there was no need for any of this and that, within the Sunningdale Agreement, there was the genesis of a solution. Twenty years later came the Downing Street Declaration and then the Good Friday Agreement. Thousands of people lost their lives unnecessarily as a result of the delay. It was a complete abomination for the people of this island. This needs to be faced up to.

This issue relates to evidence or material Ms Dolours Price gave and which the PSNI believes will be of assistance to it in pursuing the case. I do not know whether this is the case as I do not have access to the material. I have read Voices from the Grave containing the testimony of Mr. Brendan Hughes. It was riveting and revealing in respect of what occurred in the early 1970s in Northern Ireland. It referred to the various divisions within the Provisional movement. If there had been more up-front honesty from the Provisionals-Sinn Féin movement and the truth had been told much earlier in regard to the disappeared, in particular, we might not now be at this juncture. I am anxious to ascertain the Government's position on this. I ask the Sinn Féin leaders or those whom they may know within the defunct Provisional IRA movement to co-operate with the PSNI in the investigation in order to enable closure for the families concerned.

Will the Minister of State outline what he believes to be the implications of the judgment for the papers handed over to Boston College in regard to the decommissioning body of Mr. John de Chastelain? Has the Government any cause to review the decision to send the papers of the body to the US State Department and Boston College?

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