Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that the Minister is present to deal with this very important matter. Last night we witnessed a harrowing programme which chronicled the bleak tale of the disappeared, the silent witnesses to some of the grimmest and most cynical crimes in that troubled time. Sons, brothers, husbands, fathers and mothers were ruthlessly taken from their families in the dark of night on the orders of self-appointed local warlords. Some were barely old enough to shave before they disappeared into the depths of an IRA conspiracy. The gaping hole the abrupt, shock absence of these men and women left in their families' lives is a legacy with which they still struggle today. RTE and BBC did a valuable public service in producing this documentary which dealt in great detail with these awful murders and devastated families.

Jean McConville, a mother of ten, trying to make ends meet in desperate circumstances in west Belfast, was executed and disappeared on the orders of the Belfast IRA commander. The family unit was shattered and siblings were separated from one another. We have yet to hear the IRA leadership of that time deal in any appropriate way with a response, if there is such a thing when one is dealing with murder. It has very serious questions to deal with arising from this callous murder.

The family of Kevin McKee still linger with a sad regret over a final telephone call from their brother before he went silent forever. The searing testimony of Charlie Armstrong's widow, whose loss is still so raw and so painful to watch even after all the years, is a sharp reminder of the devastating impact these crimes have had on the families of the men and women who were murdered and submerged in a web of IRA lies and propaganda. Mrs. Armstrong's quiet dignity and strength as she visited the grave of her husband last night stood in stark contrast to the weasel words of Deputy Gerry Adams and others, as they even now try to muddy the waters. These victims' disappearance was compounded by the vicious malevolent rumour mill that attempted to cast aspersions on their characters and or to give false hope to bereft families. The IRA still refuses to accept responsibility for the murders and legitimate questions are not answered.

Since its establishment in 1999 in the aftermath of the Good Friday Agreement and enactment following referendums in the North and the South, the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains has been working on the lonely task of securing a just outcome for the disappeared. The remains of Joe Lynskey, Kevin McKee, Columba McVeigh, Seamus Wright, Captain Robert Nairac, Brendan Megraw and Seamus Ruddy are all lying unmarked in the ground somewhere in the Irish countryside. There are people who know where they are buried. Some of them are now in prominent public positions in Irish life. There is a heavy moral obligation on those who know to act on that knowledge. The families deserve to be made whole even at this late stage. The prevarication of the IRA and its fellow travellers in identifying the victims for whom they were responsible is a damning indictment of the moral judgment shown by that organisation. The weight of history is a heavy burden in this country. Shallow graves in desolate bogs, on lonely beaches and down distant country lanes are a testament to that burden. The victims' families are left with that dark legacy. Contrary to what Deputy Gerry Adams and others would now like to claim, everyone in the North does not share responsibility for what happened there. While the IRA organisation, from top to bottom, was intent on destruction, families in Nationalist communities across the North were resisting its campaign of terror, bringing up families and trying to earn a living in peace.

I trust that the Government will continue to give full assistance and every necessary support to the independent commission as it continues its work. I hope all Members of this House will rise to their moral responsibility to help the families, even at this very late stage.

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