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

I also refer to this legislation, and it is absolutely deplorable that the views of the Irish Government and the views of all political parties on this island have been ignored by the British Government. Recent British Governments have not had the joint working relationship, or the close co-operation and long-standing co-operation, that existed in the past between Irish and British Governments, which was critical to the progress made in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

This flawed legislation will deny justice to families bereaved during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. These families, as I have often put on the record of the House, have campaigned over the years with great grace and dignity for the truth to be established. They continue to endure the pain of loss and to express their desire for accountability, justice and truth. It is essential that avenues remain open for this. Unfortunately, the British Government has unilaterally closed down these avenues despite the united opposition of all political parties on this island. We need to continue to record forcefully our opposition to this atrocity amnesty. No one, whether in the IRA, the INLA, the UVF, the UFF, the RUC or the British army, should escape justice from committing heinous crimes. It is very important that Dáil Éireann and the Government continue to send this message out clearly to the British Government.

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