Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to have some time to speak on this matter this evening. Following the inquest into the 1971 Ballymurphy massacre, it is now being established beyond doubt that the victims that day, Fr. Hugh Mullan, Francis Quinn, Joan Connolly, Daniel Teggart, Noel Phillips, Joseph Murphy, Edward Doherty, Joseph Corr, John Laverty and John James McKerr, were innocent.

Things went on in Northern Ireland and we will never get a final peace if we cannot have honesty and reconciliation, and acceptance by the British government that barbaric acts happened there. There were many other events, including the killing of Aidan McAnespie in Aughnacloy, for which there was no proper investigation. There was a cock-and-bull story that a bullet ricocheted off the ground. It is totally unacceptable. He was being intimidated day in, day out, as were the people in Ballymurphy. It took that length of time.

The Taoiseach's meeting with the British Prime Minister last week was only window dressing, coming out with pious platitudes afterwards. I happened to be on a school trip to Dublin on the afternoon of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings; it was the most appalling experience. There has been cover-up in respect of the Omagh bomb. Detective Garda Sergeant White, who has now gone to his eternal reward - his mother, Mrs. Angela White, went shortly after him - did his best to stop the bomb going up. People knew that bomb was going to Omagh and it was not stopped. Michael Gallagher and the families of the Omagh bomb victims are striving hard for justice. They got many promises from Enda Kenny when he was leader of Fine Gael before he got into government about what he would do for them. When he got into government, the system just abandoned them. The system needs to be outed here and the cover-up needs to be stopped.

We need honesty and respect for human life and accept that where murder happened it should not have happened. At least people can grieve properly if they know that they have justice with people held accountable. There is no accountability in that system or the Dublin and Monaghan bombings and collusion there with MI5 and whatever else. It is outrageous. In an effort to go forward to the new Ireland, the shared Ireland, it is time that we have accountability, responsibility, honesty and openness.

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