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

As the Taoiseach said, there have been many all-party motions in this House about the Dublin and Monaghan bombings and the need for the British Government to be far more forthcoming with the release of vital documentation that could bring clarity to the appalling attack and the loss of life incurred at the time. A total of 34 people, including an unborn child, were murdered as a result of the explosions that tore through the city centre of Dublin and Monaghan. We have had a significant number of inquiries such as the Barron inquiry, the McEntee inquiry and others which reveal very serious concerns and the non-co-operation of the British Government is unacceptable. Its refusal to make progress on the matter in response to a united parliamentary vote in this House is more than regrettable.

The Taoiseach said he raised this with the British Prime Minister in recent conversations and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Charles Flanagan, has also raised it on a number of occasions with the Secretary of State, James Brokenshire. What response is the Government getting? What is the British Government saying? What has the response been to the Taoiseach's proposition that an international judicial figure have access to the documentation? That would be a reasonable compromise, a reasonable avenue on which to proceed in pursuing this issue. It goes to the heart of the issues of the past and the need to make sure people are accountable. On this side of the Border we opened up our documents for various inquiries, such as those into the murders of RUC constables, and we held a judicial inquiry, the Smithwick inquiry. We fulfilled our side of the agreement but the British Government has not met its responsibilities. This can be said of others as well and I have had a scepticism about other paramilitaries from the time as to whether they are really that anxious to come forward and admit their guilt in various atrocities such as Kingsmill or other activities involving loyalist paramilitaries.

A lot of views have been given and there are genuine reasons to believe loyalist paramilitaries were involved in these atrocities and that British security forces, through inactivity or non-action, could have facilitated the atrocities. There is an urgent need to explore these issues fully and comprehensively and to get access to all the evidence. The British Government has stonewalled in the name of national security and this is damaging. It is injurious to British-Irish relations and the idea that, whatever about non-state actions, the state and governments have certain norms by which they must abide in the conduct of their duties. The potential orchestration of these explosions by elements of the British security forces should be fully examined. These were the worst atrocities of that period, coming as they did against the backdrop of the Sunningdale agreement, and we must spare no effort to get to the truth. I pay tribute to Justice for the Forgotten, which has been campaigning relentlessly over the years for justice and the truth.

The Taoiseach said he wanted to explore every avenue. Can he identify what "every avenue" might mean? What other ideas has the Government come up with to pursue the issue over and above what has been said to the British Government so far? What has the British Government response has been to the recent attempts by the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Charles Flanagan, to raise this issue?

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