Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to commend the family of Pat Finucane on their courage and diligence in demanding a public inquiry into his killing. I want to be very mindful of all those who have died or been injured as a result of the conflict, regardless of who the perpetrators were.

The de Silva review into Pat Finucane's death in February 1989 concludes that there was no overarching state conspiracy but accepts there was collusion by British state agencies. It could not have done otherwise. The review is not acceptable to Pat's family who have described it as a sham and a whitewash. It is not acceptable to Sinn Féin. Three members of our party were killed during the period in question, as well as 11 family members of party activists. Today David Cameron sought to use the review as a pretext for denying the family a public inquiry.

The report reveals some of the extent to which there was collusion, but it does not diminish the need for a public inquiry. On the contrary, it makes such an inquiry more necessary than ever. Collusion was a matter of institutional and administrative practice by successive British Governments. It involved the establishment of Unionist paramilitary groups, the systematic infiltration by British agencies of all Unionist death squads at the highest levels, the control and direction of these groups, the arming and training of their members and the provision of information on people to be killed. In Pat's case, all of those involved in the killing, from the person who ordered it to those who carried it out and provided the necessary information, worked for the British Government.

At Weston Park the British agreed with the Irish Government to invite Judge Peter Cory to determine the need for an inquiry. He concluded that an inquiry was warranted, but the British Government has refused to implement his recommendation. This is a direct repudiation of the agreement between the Government here and the Government in London. The Irish Government should have prevented this, or at least spoken out more clearly about it. The role of successive Governments in this issue has not been as helpful, strategic or consistent as it could have been. The Finucane family wants the truth and a public inquiry. The Irish Government should go beyond simply supporting the family's demand to launch a diplomatic offensive in the USA and Europe and at the United Nations to highlight British obstruction and seek international support for a public inquiry.

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