Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Taoiseach for his detailed and graphic reply. I welcome the fact he met with the various groups concerned, in particular to facilitate, in terms of Kingsmill, the relatives and the surviving member with an opportunity to spell out in detail what happened on that day. This goes to the very heart of what we are about in this House, the challenge of uniting communities from different backgrounds and traditions. When the Taoiseach heard what he did face to face, he no doubt got a sense of the enormous mountain there is to climb when witnessing at first hand the impact of such atrocities on whole communities. Rhetoric becomes redundant in terms of the challenge to build genuine links based on forgiveness and reconciliation but also accountability and honesty in terms of what happened.

The Taoiseach is right in saying that people know the culprits who did this and have chosen not to share that with others. The republican philosophy espouses the unification of people, not territory or land, of different backgrounds and traditions. I welcome the fact the Taoiseach laid a wreath at Enniskillen and I welcome the fact the Tánaiste was in Belfast.

I recently attended the funeral of prison officer David Black, another appalling atrocity, and again saw at first hand the impact of that murder on his community in terms of the sense of being under siege. The Taoiseach might indicate if in his discussions either on the NSMC or with the Prime Minister and others in terms of the work of the HET, there were any further ideas emerging about how there can be greater accountability for those atrocities in terms of those who are primarily responsible for carrying them out. That is where the focus must remain. Were there any fresh ideas emerging in terms of how there can be greater accountability?

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