Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I extend a céad míle fáilte to the members of Justice for the Forgotten, the bereaved families and survivors of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings who are present in the Gallery.

I am one of the Oireachtas Members of the cross-party group on victims of the conflict and we meet them regularly. Their struggle and search for justice has been a long and difficult one for the families involved and this continues to be a case of justice delayed by the latest British Government. The so-called new relationship with Britain does not appear to extend to transparency and the release of the files on the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. This is all part of a pattern, as the British Government remains the singular obstacle to resolving many legacy issues such as the public inquiry into the killing of Pat Finucane, the killing, as mentioned, of our colleague, Sinn Féin councillor Eddie Fullerton, and the activities of the so-called Glenanne gang.

Tuesday, 17 May 2016 was the 42nd anniversary of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings, and on that day I placed a motion on the Order Paper of the Dáil. I welcome that the Government recognised this initiative and drafted today's motion. We know that in 2008 and 2011 the Dáil unanimously passed motions on the Dublin-Monaghan bombings calling on the British Government to release any relevant files it held on these attacks and calling on the Irish Government to press the British Government again to comply with this reasonable request. I believe it is important that this Thirty-second Dáil reiterate and agree again a proactive approach on this issue.

We know that the Dublin-Monaghan bombings were carried out by loyalists and British agents with logistical and technical support from British security personnel. The co-ordinated no-warning bombs were designed to kill and resulted in the highest amount of deaths and casualties of the conflict. No one - absolutely no one - has ever been brought to justice. The British Government, for its part, maintains its public position of silence and repeats its worn-out and rehearsed words of denial. It refuses to release the files and information it has on the attacks that killed 34 innocent people, including an unborn child, and injured and maimed almost 300.

I welcome the fact that the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Flanagan, attended a commemoration ceremony and wreath-laying at the Talbot Street memorial on the 42nd anniversary last week. I was struck by Alan McBride’s speech at this year’s commemoration. Alan lost his wife and father-in-law in the Shankill Road bomb. His speech was emotional and moving. He appealed for honesty and dialogue and for truth and justice for all victims of the conflict.

This will and does involve uncomfortable conversations, not just with friends or those who have a similar outlook, but with those who are enemies and who may have tried to kill or did kill people's loved ones. There is an imperative on us all to try to move beyond the hurt, acknowledge our collective failure, make politics work and begin a process of truth and real reconciliation. The Irish Government has an important part to play in that process. Up to now, the British Government has shown a complete lack of empathy for the victims and a complete disregard for the mandate of the Dáil and successive Irish Governments by ignoring previous all-party motions. The British Government has also ignored the calls of An tUachtarán Michael D. Higgins.

I welcome the fact that the Government included a commitment to actively pursue the implementation of previous motions in its programme for Government. I believe it will find the full support of all Deputies in this regard, but Sinn Féin and I will be closely tracking how this Government follows through on actions arising from today's motion. Every avenue must be explored and every opportunity used. The Government owes that to the 34 men, women and children that were killed, the hundreds that were injured and the families bereaved in these bombings. The people sitting in the Gallery today demand and deserve truth and justice. Let us collectively give them our support and assistance in achieving that in the very near future.

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