Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We appreciate the Taoiseach's commitment in this area, but there is some validity in the points that Deputy Adams raised. We are looking for a clear indication from the Government that it is taking a systematic approach and maintaining constant pressure on the British authorities to achieve progress in the cases of Pat Finucane and the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. It is important to cite on the record of the House elements of the statement by the British Prime Minister because they were most profound and shocking in many respects. He stated that while Mr. de Silva "rejects any state conspiracy, he does find quite frankly shocking levels of state collusion." He went on to quote Mr. de Silva's assertion about "an extraordinary state of affairs ... in which both the Army and the RUC Special Branch had prior notice of a series of planned UDA assassinations, yet nothing was done by the RUC to seek to prevent those attacks". Mr. Cameron also noted that Mr. de Silva found that "two agents who were at the time in the pay of the state were involved" and stated: "[M]ost shocking of all, Sir Desmond says that 'on the balance of probabilities ... an RUC officer or officers did propose Patrick Finucane ... as a UDA target when speaking to a loyalist paramilitary.' " The evidence is incontrovertible. There is, however, a lack of logic in the position of the British Prime Minister. He quite rightly made this statement in the House of Commons but he left the equation incomplete. Clearly, the only way the matter can be resolved to everybody's satisfaction is by means of a proper public inquiry.

All of us accept that the peace process cannot be taken for granted. These key cases resonate with people North and South of the Border. Generosity of spirit on the part of all participants needs to be demonstrated if we are to build public confidence that we have passed beyond that awful period of our history and are prepared to be totally honest, frank and humble in our approach. There is a moral imperative for our good friends and neighbours in the British Government to take the final step required to resolve this matter.

See this speech in context