Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The 17th of May this year will mark the 40th anniversary of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. With 33 killed, that terrible day saw the highest number of casualties on any single day during the Troubles. A further 300 people were injured. Many families across this island suffered terrible losses during the Troubles, including the Dublin-Monaghan families. I think of them today and of their ongoing loss.

On 11 May 2011, shortly after this Government took office, I met with members of Justice for the Forgotten, the organisation which, as part of the Pat Finucane Centre, provides support for victims of the Troubles in this jurisdiction, including the Dublin and Monaghan bombing families. The Taoiseach met with them subsequently on 18 July 2013. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Department of the Taoiseach officials have also met with Justice for the Forgotten, most recently on 28 January in Brussels as part of a wider meeting with victims groups and on 31 January in Dublin. The Taoiseach and I have reiterated our support for the all-party Dáil motions of July 2008 and May 2011 urging the British Government to hand over all original documents in its possession relating to the bombings.

In a recent publication Lethal Allies, supported by the Pat Finucane Centre, links are alleged between those who carried out the Dublin-Monaghan bombings and those involved in a total of 120 deaths during the Troubles. These are serious allegations and I have asked to meet with the author of the book, Anne Cadwallader, and with Margaret Urwin of Justice for the Forgotten next month to discuss them in further detail. I am aware that Justice for the Forgotten addressed the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement on 16 January 2014. I welcome this and the continued all-party support for their campaign on behalf of the Dublin-Monaghan families.

I have raised the matter of access to information related to the bombings with my ministerial counterparts in the British Government and will continue to do so. The Taoiseach has done likewise. The Government will continue to pursue the issue at ministerial and official level.

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