Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this question. The Government is very concerned by the announcement by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland on 14 February of the receipt of significant new material from the PSNI.

The ombudsman has indicated that the discovery of the new material will delay the publication of his report into events connected to the actions of loyalist paramilitaries in the north west between 1988 and 1994.

My thoughts are first and foremost with all the families affected, including the family of Councillor Eddie Fullerton who was brutally murdered by the UDA in Buncrana in 1991, the five families who lost loved ones in the Ormeau Road attack in 1992 and the family of a teenager, Damien Walsh, who was murdered in west Belfast in 1993.

This is a most anxious and difficult time for each family affected as they now have to wait even longer for the report of the ombudsman into their cases. I have directed my officials to meet the affected families in the first instance. I also raised this matter with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Karen Bradley, when I spoke to her yesterday.

It is important now to allow the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, Michael Maguire, the necessary space to complete the investigation, taking account of the new material uncovered.

In addition, in response to the request of the ombudsman that an independent review be carried out into the methods used for disclosure of information to his office, the Northern Ireland Department of Justice announced on 19 February that it had requested Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland to undertake an independent review into the methods the PSNI uses to disclose information in respect of historical cases to the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland. The chief inspector of Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland, Brendan McGuigan, has confirmed that the review will be prioritised and that its report should be completed in six weeks. Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland is an independent statutory inspectorate with responsibility for inspecting all aspects of the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland apart from the Judiciary.

The Government will keep this matter under very close review in the period ahead.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

This development makes clear once again that the Stormont House Agreement framework is urgently needed in order to provide a comprehensive process for addressing legacy investigations and issues in Northern Ireland, focused on the needs of victims and survivors. The Government will continue to engage with the British Government and the political parties in Northern Ireland to seek the implementation of the Stormont House Agreement framework as soon as possible.

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