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

I thank the Tánaiste for his reply. The report is shocking and reveals why the British Government did not want a public inquiry. The scale and depth of collusion between the RUC, the British army and the UDA and other loyalist forces are such that a public inquiry would probably reveal much more about the wider systemic nature of the collusion. In 1991 Mr. Ken Barrett, the person eventually convicted of the murder, was recruited as an agent by the RUC special branch instead of being prosecuted, which is what the RUC criminal investigative division wanted.

The Tánaiste has stated the Irish Government sought a full and open inquiry as part of the Weston Park agreement. The British Government decided instead to commission the de Silva review without consulting its Irish counterpart.

In essence, there has been a breach of an international agreement between our two countries. This matter remains a point of disagreement between the two governments, but more than that, it compounds the hurt the Finucane family has experienced as a result of the absence of an inquiry. The failure to have an inquiry will also create a lack of confidence and reduce the confidence that has developed in recent times following reports on Bloody Sunday and so on. It also undermines confidence in the relationship between the two governments, a relationship that is critical to the overall peace process.

How does the Tánaiste propose to pursue this breach of an international agreement? What is the nature of the engagement between him and the British Government with regard to pursuing a full public inquiry into this particular murder? What steps does he propose to take to bring this about and to get the British Government to fulfil its part of the agreement?

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