Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to have a couple of minutes to make a few points about the Ballymurphy massacre. It strikes me today - and I do not doubt the sincerity of anybody who has spoken, from the Taoiseach right through to the most recent speaker - that our collective ambivalence as an Oireachtas throughout many tragedies in the North of Ireland, elsewhere, is worth noting. What are we really doing about the various atrocities, from Ballymurphy through to Bloody Sunday, the Dublin-Monaghan bombings, Guildford, Birmingham and so on? When the passage of time dictates it, we will jump up and down, be indignant, demand apologies and seek redress, but at the time what do we do about it?

I am conscious that a number of years ago, on the say-so of the Brits, we here took it upon ourselves to expel Russian diplomats, perhaps rightly, because it was alleged a former spy had been murdered on British soil by Russian agents. At the time I asked whether we would ever take such steps in other instances. I asked at the time: what happens the next time children are killed in Israeli strikes? Of course, 61 children have been killed in Israeli strikes over the past week. I wonder whether we will wait 50 years as a State before we hold a debate in this House to condemn collectively the actions of the Israelis in not exercising due care in undertaking violent acts. That is worth reflecting on, as are the other issues that come before us here. How many protected disclosures sit uninvestigated? There are the mother and baby homes issue and so many others. They will be sat on for 50 years while we as a nation are happy - "we are all right down here, Jack" - and ambivalent to the atrocities of the North. In real terms, in trying to get the appropriate accountability, justice and redress for all victims of the conflict, particularly those families of Ballymurphy whom we are discussing today, what are we really doing about it? Is it a stiff letter to Prime Minister Johnson? What do our actions of diplomacy include in the context of seeking that? That is a point worth raising. The Minister for Foreign Affairs is in the room. We were happy and quick, perhaps rightly so, to expel Russian diplomats.

Let us see some action on Israel. In any war situation it is unacceptable for 61 children to die in a week. I hope the Minister can bring that to the Cabinet and we can come up with a suitable response of our own and lead the way, using our position on the United Nations Security Council as a small nation of peace, rather than waiting for the leads of other countries and the say-so of the Brits, the Americans or anyone else.

Obviously, I welcome the Americans' reaffirming their support for Stormont House Agreement and Good Friday Agreement. We need to hammer that home. In the interests of all victims on all sides, we also need to insist that under no circumstances should the British authorities press ahead with any sort of amnesty or clemency. Accountability, justice and redress must come long before any such matters are considered, if ever.

See this speech in context