Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The issue I raise is one that has been awaiting resolution for a very long time. Given the current difficulties with Brexit and the implications for the Good Friday Agreement, there is a real fear that the group Justice for the Forgotten and the survivors and the families of those killed in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings may never see a resolution. I should not have to raise this issue today, but after many years and much discussion in the Houses, in spite of the work of Justice for the Forgotten and, most significantly, the three Dáil motions in 2008, 2011 and 2016, there has been no resolution. The Dáil motions were concerned with seeking access to information and providing an independent international judicial figure who would have access to all of the relevant original documents. All three motions were passed unanimously but have been ignored by the British Government and the British embassy, which is an insult to the Dáil.

Numerous parliamentary questions on the issue have been submitted, the most recent being that from me and Deputy Brendan Smith in early October. We were told that the issue was of the utmost importance to the Government and included in the programme for Government and that it was imperative that we moved ahead with full implementation of the Stormont House agreement. That agreement provides for an historical investigations unit for Troubles-related deaths in Northern Ireland, but there is no such unit in the Republic of Ireland, as there is not in the case of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. Therefore, victims here are being treated differently. Here such deaths will be treated like all other crimes, that is, as matters for the Department of Justice and Equality and An Garda Síochána that will follow up on any new evidence. How is that to inspire confidence that there will be a resolution because there has been no action taken on evidence that has been available since 1974? Within a few weeks of the bombings the Garda had information on who, how, the timeframe and the routes taken by the bombers, but the investigation was wound down within a few months.

Twenty years later Mr. Justice Barron conducted an inquiry and produced a report. Has there been any action taken on it? There has not been a single conviction. Mr. Justice Barron found that Garda files and evidence from the bomb debris were missing. Further investigative journalism and books all suggest there was collusion. Mr. Justice Barron wrote that the Government of the day had shown little interest in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings and that lack of interest has continued with subsequent Governments right up to today. Throughout we had the failure of the British Government to co-operate. That continues to this day with its ignoring of the three Dáil motions to which I have referred. It has been hiding behind the facade of national security for over 40 years.

The Taoiseach and his predecessor, Deputy Enda Kenny, made very strong public statements on child abuse by members of the clergy and religious institutions. Is it not time to do the very same for the survivors and the victims' families in seeking access to all of the original documentation? Is it not time for the Garda Commissioner to apologise for Garda failures to date? Such actions could provide the impetus for real action in order that Justice for the Forgotten, the aptly named group, will see a resolution.

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