Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Today, I join colleagues across the Chamber in talking of truth and the manner in which it should manifest in justice. We often hear the phrase "justice delayed is justice denied". For the families whose loved ones have been killed by the forces of a state, the importance of justice cannot be overstated. It is necessary for families and communities to come to terms with events that turned their world upside down. Justice is meant to shine a light. It is supposed to get to the truth and it is supposed to work to ensure that we hold those responsible accountable. Justice is the only pathway we have in a civil society that can bring us to truth and reconciliation.

In 1971, the British army implemented a policy of internment across Northern Ireland. People suspected of being members of the IRA could be arrested and detained without trial. A number of raids were carried out and in all, more than 1,000 people were interned without trial. Justice is one of the main pillars that underpins democracy. We understand justice to mean that those accused of a criminal offence would have access to due process, to a speedy trial, to a defence team and the outcome of a trial would be determined by a jury of their peers. Where was the justice?

Justice delayed is justice denied and the Ballymurphy massacre is a clear example of how the British state, the RUC and the British army colluded and acted to ensure that justice was denied. Generations of families and entire communities were forced to grieve for their people while having to fight for answers, fight for truth and fight for accountability. Where was the justice? During an internment raid in Ballymurphy, Belfast, in August 1971, ten civilians were shot and killed by the British army, including a priest who was giving the last rites. Another man died from a heart attack shortly after a gun was placed in his mouth by a soldier of the British forces. The following year, in 1972, an inquest returned an open verdict on all those killed. Where was their justice?

Just a few weeks ago, the families finally got a fair inquest which was held to reconsider what happened in Ballymurphy in August 1971. This time, a coroner found that all those killed were innocent and that the killings were without justification. Yet in the same week, the British Prime Minister was considering an amnesty whereby no soldier could be held accountable for their actions prior to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 and so I ask again, where is the justice?

Despite the clear and obvious evidence which demonstrated what had happened, lies were told, stories were spun, the innocent were blamed and those who killed were allowed to continue with the brutality against people, families and communities across Northern Ireland for years to come. If we are ever to come to terms with our past and to deal with legacy issues that took place in all communities, we need to know the truth. We, the communities, the victims and their families deserve to know the truth.

We need to know what took place, what happened, who decided what should happen and who carried that out. We must understand this as political violence and recognise that civilians and the British army cannot be equated. We cannot and should not forget the past but, if we are ever to move on, we cannot just leave it behind. We have to come to terms with what happened and build towards a peaceful future together. We must learn from the mistakes made and the atrocities committed in the past to ensure they never happen again. There are many across our island who speak and search for truth.

A point was already made about the 47th anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings and the families who still seek truth. I will raise the case of another individual, a friend of mine, who is being treated in a grotesquely unfair manner on our island. Will our Government demand that the British Government immediately remove the current 84-year embargo on all files relating to the case of the Reavey brothers? Three innocent young brothers were murdered at Whitecross, County Armagh, on 4 January 1976 by the so-called Glenanne gang, simply because they were Catholics. Will our Government demand that the British Government apologise to the innocent brother, Eugene Reavey, for the scurrilous smear campaign deliberately orchestrated against him for decades? In the history of what became known as the Troubles, it would be difficult to find anyone who has suffered as much while maintaining as much dignity as Eugene Reavey. He is a true champion of peace and a co-founder of the Truth and Reconciliation Platform who, like the families of the Ballymurphy massacre victims, deserves his truth, his redemption and his apology. He deserves to be held up as a beacon of truth in our country.

I urge the Taoiseach and this Government to insist that the British Government reconsider its version of an amnesty and instead revert to the Stormont House Agreement, agreed and established to deliver necessary mechanisms capable of dealing with our history and shared trauma. Only this can ensure that the rights of the victims, all those who died, who were injured, who were interned or who witnessed violence as adults or as children, to truth and reconciliation are vindicated.

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