John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

This is an important motion and one would hope, given the overwhelming cross-party support and proposals, that the British Government would acknowledge the solidarity of this Parliament by reconsidering calls for an independent panel of inquiry into the events in Ballymurphy in August 1971 and their aftermath. The Ballymurphy massacre is one of many unresolved legacy issues that need to be addressed in Northern Ireland.

Almost 50 children were bereaved as a result of the atrocity. If details of such a travesty in a foreign country were broadcast on tonight's news, there would be immediate calls for a human rights investigation. If details unfolded of the terror and trauma that ensued when family homes were raided, when areas were put under military occupation and people were taken away and tortured, the international press would flood into the area to turn the spotlight on the injustices being perpetrated. Today, we see many forms of terrorism around the world. What happened in Ballymurphy was terrorism of the worst kind, inflicted by the British army and sponsored by the British state. There is no question about that.

As suspicions grew about the legal and judicial cover-up, there would certainly be calls for a UN investigation, as is happening in many countries around the world today. Instead, the families of the 11 victims have met with a wall of silence. Some of those people are here today and I have met them. I take the opportunity to convey my deepest sympathies to them on their loss. Their trauma and bereavement has been followed by years of frustration and anger. Briege Foyle and her sister were staying in Waterford with relatives after being evacuated from Belfast. Members might recall that she heard on an RTE bulletin that her mother had been buried. When she returned home and tried to come to terms with her devastating loss, she faced the ordeal of taunts and horrendous abuse by paratroopers outside her home. Such behaviour was horrendous, outrageous and unbelievable. One could ask how we could allow such an injustice to be perpetrated and remain unaddressed. According to the old adage, the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. There is no denying that the British State had a role in the abuse of innocent children. At the time, the paratroopers were abusing children and saying horrendous, awful things to them. If we heard about such events today in any other part of the world, there would be outrage in every parliament across the world.

The Attorney General in the North, in ordering new inquests in ten of the cases, has made an important step towards justice. The collective voice of this Parliament must now play its part by co-ordinating with the efforts of the Ballymurphy massacre campaign to do everything in our power to help.

Nothing less than a full international investigation will suffice. I do not trust the British to hold their own investigation into it. The circumstances were horrendous. Today, I spoke with a former member of the British Army, who said people needed to be called, including the county officers who were in charge, those who are still alive. It must be done. Given that we are still holding people to account for atrocities that happened in Auschwitz and Belsen 1940 and 1944, there is no reason we should not hold these people to account.

The people deserve closure on their 40 year quest for truth. So too do the victims of the IRA, UVF, UDA and other groups that operated in Northern Ireland. The families of Jean McConville and Joseph Lynskey also deserve closure on their years of torment. We cannot be selective about which horrors are to stay in the past and which are to be examined. Almost 3,000 people lost their lives during the Troubles, many of them murdered. Many people have been bereaved by killings on both sides and they deserve truth and transparency about their loved ones and recognition of the pain caused by atrocities on both sides. They deserve a body to bury respectfully, which is a major issue for many people.

The issue will not fade away into history, nor should it be allowed to, although it has been 40 years. As democrats and reasonably minded people, we in this Parliament have a duty to ensure it does not happen. These people were Irish people, not British citizens. Irish children were tormented and abused. Irish people were murdered. Everybody looks to us rather than the British Parliament to be strong and resolute. The French and German Governments have been strong on atrocities that were committed 40 or 50 years ago. To this day, they hunt down people who committed atrocities and, irrespective of their age or health, bring them to court. There is an onus on all of us to do the same. This Parliament has a duty to prevent what happened 40 years ago from happening again by demonstrating that there will be a recourse to action, that we will not stand by and allow it. If some atrocity took place in some other parts of the world today affecting children, all of us would find it abhorrent and seek accountability and justice. That is all we and the families are seeking.

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