Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The remarkable RTE documentary aired last Monday night exposed the full extent of collusion between British state forces and Unionist paramilitaries in the decades of the conflict. It was not just a case of a few bad apples; it was systemic. Agents of the British state controlled and armed Unionists and loyalist paramilitaries for all of those years. All parties in the House have called on the British Government to open the files on the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. The Tánaiste tells us that the Taoiseach has raised this issue with the British Government but that it is not for turning. The British Government has also failed to honour its commitments in the Weston Park agreement and to have a proper and full independent investigation into the murder of Pat Finucane. The Tánaiste tells us that the Taoiseach has raised the matter with the British Government but that it is not for turning. For how long will the Government tolerate this? If the British Government presided over the murders of human rights lawyers and elected representatives in Scotland, can the Tánaiste imagine this being tolerated?

I raise the case of Councillor Eddie Fullerton. He was a much loved and respected member of Buncrana Urban District Council and Donegal County Council and assassinated in his home on 25 May 1991. His family has since been failed by the sheer apathy of those in power in this state. However, thanks to the tireless efforts of his family, we now know that an RUC special branch car took his killers across the Border that night. We also know that two of the guns used in the massacres at Castlerock and Greysteel were used in the murder of Eddie Fullerton. Incredibly, when these weapons were found, the Garda failed to interview those in custody.

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