Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On 28 December last in Belturbet, County Cavan, we marked the 50th anniversary of the bombing in the town that caused the death of two young teenagers, Geraldine O'Reilly and Patrick Stanley. As the Taoiseach knows, next May will mark the 50th anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, when 33 innocent people were murdered and hundreds were badly injured on that fatal day. That day, 17 May 1974, was the darkest day of all during the era known as the Troubles, when unfortunately there were many bad days throughout this island. Very regrettably, nobody has been brought to justice for those heinous crimes, be it in Belturbet or Dublin and Monaghan. The Taoiseach will also recall that in 2008, 2011 and 2016, this House unanimously passed motions calling on the British Government to give an independent eminent international legal expert access to all papers and files pertaining to the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. The non-response of the British Government to the legitimate and unanimous request of a neighbouring sovereign jurisdiction is totally and simply unacceptable.

We all know the chances of getting prosecutions are extremely limited but the least the families deserve is the truth about who carried out those atrocities. Will the Taoiseach give an assurance to this House, as he did in the past, that he and other members of the Government in all meetings at prime ministerial and government level will continue to raise the need for the British Government and the Northern Ireland authorities to co-operate in meaningful investigations into these atrocities?

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