Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Anti-Austerity Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I will be sharing time with Deputy Bríd Smith. I welcome the relatives of the victims of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings to the Gallery today. I wish to express the support of the Socialist Party and the Anti-Austerity Alliance for the relatives in their ongoing attempts to get answers and justice for their loved ones, who were killed so many years ago, as well as for victims of all the other atrocities carried out during the course of the Troubles.

The bombings in Dublin city and Monaghan town on Friday, 17 May 1974 were absolutely barbaric. They were designed to kill and seriously injure as many innocent civilians as possible. The events of that day resulted in the biggest loss of life in the Troubles. The families of the victims and the Justice for the Forgotten group are to be commended on their ongoing work in seeking justice and answers to what took place on that day as well as the other terrorist attacks in the period. These included the Dublin bombings in December 1972 and January 1973, the atrocity in Belturbet in December 1972, the atrocity in Dundalk in December 1975, the atrocity in Castleblayney in March 1976 and the killing of the Miami Showband in July 1975 as well as many other deaths that took place at the time.

The families never got a proper Garda or RUC investigation into these events. The authorities on both sides of the Border appear to have taken the attitude that these bombings and killings were simply part of the Troubles and that proper investigation was not warranted or required. The families were left not knowing the full information and were not satisfied with the investigation that took place. This compounded the grief they have had to endure at the loss of their loved ones.

My Socialist Party colleague, Joe Higgins, raised this issue in the Dáil on numerous occasions. I dug out some transcripts today. It is incredible that 15 and 16 years ago the same questions were asked in this Chamber but there has been no movement whatsoever. On one occasion he questioned Bertie Ahern, who was the Taoiseach at the time of the Barron and McEntee inquiries. He called on the Government of the day to take a strong position and demand access to files and documents held by the British authorities. At the time, Tony Blair was the British Prime Minister. Clearly, it was a different era, yet we are still seeking answers and there has not been co-operation on the part of the British Government. Even Mr. Justice Barron concluded that it would not be fanciful to say there was a level of collusion between elements of the British State security services and loyalist paramilitaries. This is why there is a particularly strong need for the files and documents held by them to be made available immediately for a full investigation.

All of the victims of the Troubles and their relatives deserve truth and justice. The demands of the Justice for the Forgotten group need to be supported. I am also aware of the campaign work of the victims of the Ballymurphy and Kingsmill massacres as well. We also support the demands of these victims and relatives for investigations in order that truth and justice can be delivered for them as well. We need this not only for the relatives and victims, but to learn the lessons of the past, the extent of State collusion and what the State is capable of in these circumstances.

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