Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank all Deputies for their contributions on this important and timely motion. A show of unity on an issue such as this sends a strong message to victims' families and survivors and, I hope, to the British Government. The events of 17 May 1974 mark the greatest loss of life in any single day of the Troubles. This Friday will mark 50 years since that callous and brutal act of violence. Our discussion today is a timely and essential reminder of the deep and lasting effects of these terrible attacks and of the failure to secure any prosecutions or hold anyone accountable for the lives lost and injuries sustained. On behalf of the Government, I express my deep and sincere condolences, including to the family members who join us in the House today, for the terrible loss suffered. No words can heal the pain and grief they have experienced. Despite the passage of time, they continue to feel the loss of their loved ones deeply.

Today's motion is an opportunity for this House to again call upon the British Government to allow access by an independent, international judicial figure to all original documents relating to the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. It is 16 years since the first all-party motion was agreed in 2008. The British Government has still not responded in any meaningful way. Many people have listened to the RTÉ podcast, "The Forgotten", or seen the documentary "May-17-74: Anatomy of a Massacre", both released over the past week and to which many family members and victims contributed. Their deeply moving first-hand testimony brings home the painful reality they have all lived with for 50 years, driving home the long impact the lack of answers has had on their lives and their ability to move on. These stories must continue to be told to keep memories alive. They must be told as a reminder to our society that this happened not that long ago. They must be told to keep pressure on all for access to the information that might allow some measure of resolution.

In addition to the family members who are with us today, I also welcome the representatives of Justice for the Forgotten, who have campaigned tirelessly since 1996 to see justice delivered for the victims of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. That this House is gathered here today to agree a fourth motion on the bombings is a testament to the relentless courage and determination of those who campaigned for answers for years. As the Tánaiste noted in his opening remarks, we should not shy away from the fact the lack of action by the authorities in this jurisdiction in the first decades after the bombings exacerbated and prolonged the distress of victims.

Despite these challenges, the campaigning of victims and families has made this a priority for all parties and progress has been made. There have been a number of inquiries and investigations into the bombings in this jurisdiction, including the Barron inquiry and the commission of investigation under Patrick McEntee. Each progressed our understanding of what happened and brought us to the important point where there is now strong all-party consensus on what needs to be done to establish the full record.

In 2016, 2011, and 2008, this House called on the British Government to allow access by an independent, international judicial figure to all original documents relating to the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, as well as the Dublin bombings of 1972 and 1973, the bombing of Kay's Tavern in Dundalk and the murder of Seamus Ludlow. Today is the fourth occasion on which we reiterate this call.

Successive Governments have raised this issue with the British Government at every possible opportunity. We will continue to do so. An unwillingness to engage has characterised the British Government's approach to the Dublin-Monaghan bombings for decades. Both Mr. Justice Barron and Patrick McEntee SC publicly regretted the lack of co-operation received from the British Government in the course of their investigations. As a result, their reports were limited in scope.

While our track record in this jurisdiction is imperfect, this Government has taken specific, unilateral measures to ensure that we can co-operate with historical investigations in Northern Ireland to the fullest extent possible, including Operation Kenova and Operation Denton, which includes the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. On our small, shared island, any attempt to adequately address the past requires strong co-operation between the British and Irish Governments. Regrettably, the failure of the British Government to engage on the bombings in Dublin and Monaghan is not an isolated incident, but forms part of wider pattern of engagement on legacy issues more broadly. The most clear expression of this is the UK legacy Act, which shuts down all inquests, PSNI and Police Ombudsman investigations, and civil cases concerned with events that occurred during the Troubles.

I know that all Members in this Chamber share the Government's fundamental concerns about this legislation's impact on victims and its compatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights. The Good Friday Agreement speaks of the necessity of acknowledging the suffering of victims. Addressing the legacy of the past has been stop-start, difficult and incomplete. Without an agreed path, we cannot move forward. The ones to pay the cost for this failure are victims and survivors, in both jurisdictions, from all communities.

In the absence of verifiable information, theories will rush in to fill the vacuum. I believe we are better trying to face the legacy of the past, as difficult as that sometimes might be, on the basis of facts, not supposition or worse. We in this Chamber have responsibilities to the victims of the Troubles, North and South, to do everything possible to ensure their access to justice and to information. We must never lose sight of the individuals at the heart of this atrocity. It is essential that we keep this issue alive, and continue to press the British Government to respond to our collective calls. Its ongoing refusal to release the relevant documents related to the Dublin-Monaghan bombings remains a fundamental barrier to achieving justice. The date of 17 May 1974 was one of the darkest days of the Troubles, yet for half a century, families have been left without answers, perpetuating the pain of their loss. They deserve better. The Government is pleased to support this motion.

See this speech in context