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

The report of the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman found that special branch intelligence, paramilitary informants, were involved in a range of activities, including: command and control of loyalist paramilitaries; the procurement, importation and distribution of weapons; and murder and conspiracy to murder. They were not subject to any meaningful investigation. They were given a licence to kill and maim with no real likelihood of conviction.

In 1974 bombs exploded in Dublin and Monaghan killing 33 people, including an unborn child. The farm of James Mitchell, a member of the so-called Glenanne gang, was used to assemble and launch these attacks with the support, it is believed, of British intelligence services. Mitchell was in the RUC and other gang members were in the Ulster Defence Regiment. The gang is linked to over 120 deaths.

In 1988 weapons were imported from South Africa. Where did they end up? They ended up on James Mitchell's farm. Through their informants, the intelligence agencies knew where and when the weapons were arriving. Some were recovered but many more were allowed to go to loyalist death squads. One of these weapons was used in the Loughinisland massacre. At least one of those killers is suspected to be an agent. Six were killed and five were injured watching an Ireland football match, like the match many of us were watching last night. There were killed simply for being Catholics. We owe it to the victims of the Loughinisland massacre and their families, who have been waiting for 22 years, that time be set aside in the Dáil to discuss this report. I do not accept that speaking time of two or three minutes each is adequate.

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