Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to speak to this matter. I was born in 1967 and as a child of the Troubles, although indirectly, I am very much aware of their impact on our country. I remember various and major atrocities as they occurred during my lifetime, whether they were at Dublin, Monaghan, Warrenpoint, Birmingham, Enniskillen or Omagh. These atrocities had an impact on our people and their psyche and they led many people to take up arms as well. There was destruction, mayhem and killing of innocent people or shattering of the lives of those left behind. I honestly never envisaged in those times that there would be a resolution or solution but thanks to the patriotism afforded to us by the likes of Hume and his initiative with Adams, along with Haughey, Reynolds, Major, Ahern, Blair, Trimble and Bruton, among others, peace was eventually brokered.

This was a magnificent achievement in our lifetime, a solution in the form of the Downing Street Declaration and the Good Friday and St. Andrews Agreements. There was buy-in by the American people and representatives, along with Europe and the Irish people. We have seen the peace dividend that came as a result and our island's ability since to attract business, tourism and, despite the pressures that exist because of Brexit, there is a willingness on an all-island basis to respond in a positive economic way.

There are provisions in the Good Friday Agreement to allow governments to pursue the island's interest. There is the prospect of a conventional government in time, a border poll and conventional politics and representation as we know it as a result. However, there is something left unresolved, including the unsolved or brushed away atrocities associated with those Troubles. These include Martin Finucane, Paul Quinn, the McAnespies of Aughnacloy or Robert McCartney in a Belfast pub, not to mention the disappeared.

Last night's programme highlighted another atrocity that had an impact on the lives of innocents and townspeople of my own. Last weekend we heard Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen speaking about the extra mile that people need to go to find a solution to the impact of Brexit on our economy, as well as the British and European economies. Nobody talks about the extra yard when miles have been walked by many in achieving the peace we have.

A border poll may be realised along with a united Ireland by all who aspire to it, and we all have the same love for the flag.

It is time that the peace was augmented by the truth commission we have heard about at various times in our recent history. The British forces and those who were responsible on our side of the argument must give a commitment to acknowledging the part they played in these atrocities and allow people like the parents and siblings of Paddy Stanley and the family of Geraldine O'Reilly and many more like them throughout the country to find closure. Unfortunately when we talk about going the extra mile, we must think of the mile those families had to walk from the church to the graveyard, not only to bury the victims of the Belturbet atrocity but also to bury their parents who have died since. They were not afforded the appreciation they deserved. The Government must ensure that a truth and reconciliation commission is part of the process of bringing a finality to the Troubles. It needs to be part of the process and I urge the Government to ensure that it will be.

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