Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Is ceart agus is cóir dúinn uilig an cheist seo agus an tubaiste uafásach seo a phlé arís i mbliana. I welcome the opportunity to support this motion, which draws on previous all-party motions in July 2008 and May 2011. I extend my gratitude to the ongoing work of Justice for the Forgotten in continuing to shine a light on this dark moment in our past. I can assure those relatives gathered here today in the Gallery or at home that it will not be forgotten here in this House.

The events of 17 May 1974 occurred against the backdrop of the pitch black horizon of sectarian conflict. Even in the shadow of the brutal violence that was consuming Northern Ireland, the Dublin-Monaghan bombings were the darkest of hours. Thirty-four people, including an unborn child, perished as a series of explosions tore through the city centre and Monaghan town. On an ordinary May evening, with the summer stretching before it, the streets were full of life. Ordinary workers were making their way home after a long day in the office, pensioners trundled along the way to the shops, parents dragged children in their wake. These lives were ruthlessly ended in an indiscriminate slaughter. Entire families were extinguished, lives abruptly taken away or irrevocably changed. The repercussions of the bombs are still being felt today in silent homes across the country. The fabric of family life was ripped apart for dozens of households. Strands of life were cut off for ever. It was the single bloodiest day of the Troubles which have so deeply scarred this island.

The bombs erupted in the fraught political context of the Unionist revolt against the Sunningdale Agreement. As that fragile process was torn asunder by mass strikes, the attacks on our State sent a clear message about the cost of North-South engagement. It is clear from the evidence that loyalist paramilitaries undertook the bloody deed. However, the sophistication and co-ordination of the attacks raises serious issues around the potential orchestration of the explosions by elements of British security forces. The bombs form part of other similar attacks on Dublin, Belturbet, Dundalk, Castleblaney and the savage murder of the Miami Showband during the bleakest period of the conflict. It is important we acknowledge the men and women impacted by those tragic moments of absolute violence.

The work of Mr. Justice Hamilton, Mr. Justice Barron and the McEntee Commission have revealed serious concerns regarding the non-co-operation of the British authorities. This is why the families of those who lost their lives demand and deserve full disclosure by the British Government on the issue. It is an issue that Fianna Fáil has continually raised with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers, on her visits here. It is important that this motion keeps the issue alive for all parties in this House. The ongoing refusal of Prime Minister Cameron to release the relevant documents is a fundamental barrier to achieving real closure. How long do we have to wait for a meaningful response from the British Prime Minister on the issue? It cannot just be about conveying messages to the British Prime Minister and then feeling that we have done our duty. I ask the Taoiseach to raise this in his next meeting with the British Prime Minister. He should not do this just in a formal manner, but should seek some concrete response to the unanimous views of this House and the need to get a resolution to this, and then report back to us on the actual response of the British Prime Minister to the request to release those documents and files and to facilitate access for an international person of repute. There are a number of outstanding issues on the British-Irish agenda that have been there for quite a number of years and are not getting advanced in any meaningful way. Some new initiative and momentum is needed to break the logjam on this and on other issues and to get some concrete response from the British Prime Minister, rather than the stonewalling we have experienced to date.

The Troubles claimed some 3,600 lives and destroyed countless more. The poisonous legacy of violence has seeped deep into the roots of many communities. It has stunted the growth of a peaceful society in Northern Ireland. The reach of the past is still pulling at the future. Today’s motion deals with one tragic moment from that turbulent period, but it is one among many. Only this week we saw the opening of an inquest into the Kingsmill massacre. On a desolate stretch of road deep in south Armagh, ten workmen were raked with machine gun fire, murdered solely because of their religion. Their families, too, remember the profound dread of the policeman’s visit to tell them of their loved one’s death. The bloody chronicle of the past is littered with such terrible moments. This is why the failure of the Fresh Start agreement to reach a comprehensive consensus on how to confront legacy issues needs to be addressed.

The relatives who still struggle with the long aftermath of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings share the same strife with countless others. All across our island there are individuals and families still wrestling with violent events that irreversibly changed their lives. What is needed is not simply half the truth or a partisan approach to uncovering a shared past. A divided approach will only serve to exacerbate old wounds and allow historic grievances to fester and grow. To move on and stop the corrosive rot of the past, we need a clear mechanism to bring closure. These things cannot be swept under the political carpet. They will always re-emerge to haunt us.

The Eames-Bradley Commission, the Haass talks and the original Stormont House Agreement all came forward with clear proposals to deal with these divisive and painful issues. Innovative ideas have emerged to date such as the creation of a historical investigations unit to inquire into killings during the Troubles, a commission to enable people to learn privately how their loved ones were killed, and the creation of an oral history archive where experiences of the conflict could be shared. These measures provide a clear path forward to confront and address the painful inheritance of the Troubles.

I am concerned that we risk falling into a divided approach to dealing with the past. We are mired in a sterile debate where both sides call on the other to come forward while showing no willingness to engage themselves. We are trapped on a roundabout of selective memories with no exit. To break that perpetual circle there needs to be a clear route to grapple with the dark days bequeathed by the past. The Irish Government, the British Government and the Northern Ireland Assembly should revisit the ideas of Eames-Bradley to come forward with fresh proposals. We need a renewed focus and energy behind our collective efforts to address the past and build for the future.

Today’s motion is one aspect of that. The British Government should take the lead and open up its files to an independent international judicial figure. As part of a holistic, comprehensive process, the whole truth is needed, not a partial or biased account that fails to recognise the depth and scale of the conflict from all perspectives. It would be useful to know, and it is a pity that the Taoiseach did not put it on the record in his speech today, where the British Government currently stands in relation to our requests. I sincerely hope that today’s motion marks a step forward and not simply a reiteration of old positions. This cannot be allowed to fall into tired, rehearsed expressions of sympathy.

In the aftermath of today's statements it would be useful if the party leaders met to see what could usefully be done to advance this agenda with the British Government in the weeks and months ahead and to try to facilitate a move forward. It is important we have these statements annually and agree this motion, but it is equally important that we are seen to make some progress. If our relationship with the British Government is to stand for anything, a unanimous resolution of the House should be responded to in a meaningful way and the responses to date have not been meaningful or far-reaching enough. Much more is needed if we are to close this black chapter of history and assuage those for whom the hurt is still all too raw. The families, friends and communities tragically touched by heinous acts of violence like the Dublin-Monaghan bombings deserve to know, deserve to remember and deserve to move on. Let us give them the opportunity to do that.

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