Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I assure the Deputy this issue will continue to be a priority in my deliberations with the Secretary of State and the British Government. I also am aware of the Taoiseach's positive and constructive engagement in this regard. Last week on 17 May, the forty-second anniversary of the bombings, I represented the Government at the commemoration ceremony and stood in solidarity with the families of victims and survivors of the atrocity in the constituency represented by Deputy O'Sullivan. Decades-old cases, such as the Dublin-Monaghan bombings, must be adequately addressed if we are to achieve a genuinely reconciled society.

Successive Irish Governments, in our ongoing bilateral relations with the UK and through the European Court of Human Rights at Strasbourg, have consistently raised with the British Government the obligation to ensure effective investigations of such cases, including in instances of alleged collusion.

Many families continue to deal not only with the awful pain of losing a loved one, but also with the struggle for answers decades after these traumatic events.

Following the Assembly elections in Northern Ireland and the formation of the Executive yesterday, I wish to assure the Deputy and the House that I will continue to renew a positive and vociferous round of engagements on this issue.

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