Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There are not too many issues that would secure all-party support for a motion on four occasions, namely those tabled in 2008, 2011, 2016 and today. Some might say it is surprising that there has been a need to bring virtually the same motion before the House on four separate occasions. The most surprising aspect is that it took 34 years for the first motion to be tabled. That is telling. I hope what we can offer to the families and campaigners joining us here tonight is that on this occasion, the motion will be met with action.

I thank all Members who contributed to the debate, particularly those on the Opposition benches. I thank the Government representatives, particularly Deputy Brendan Smith. The Deputy was the only Government Member who represents either Monaghan or Dublin to participate in the debate.

The truth is that the British Government murdered Irish citizens. Sometimes it did it quite overtly, including the murder of children and that of Aidan McAnespie, as he went from my county to a football match in neighbouring Tyrone. In most instances, these murders were committed covertly and in collusion with loyalists, unionist death squads and armed groups. In some instances, nobody claimed responsibility. It was a key part of a British Government strategy. As others have stated, the files will not be opened on this particular case unless the British Government is forced to open them. That is because when the files relating to this case are opened, the entire British colonial strategy will be exposed. The actions of the British Government in Ireland were not unique to this country; they were part of the colonial playbook across the parts of the world in which Britain was active.

That is why the truth of collusion needs to be spoken. For a long time in this House and across official Ireland, collusion was presented as republican propaganda and people were given no succour. Anybody who dared to suggest it was likely to get a visit from the Garda special branch. That was part of the core aim of successive Governments. After Dublin and Monaghan, other bombings in Dublin, the bombing of Castleblayney, the bombing of Belturbet, the bombing of Dundalk, the murder of John Francis Green and all of the acts in this State in which the British Government had a hand, the instinctive objective of Governments in Dublin was to ensure that such acts did not lead to an increase in support for republicanism. That was the basis on which decisions were made, not the need to secure truth and justice for those who had been bereaved. The key policy objective was censorship and ensuring that the conflict, as it was considered in Dublin, was contained in the North.

All I can say is thank God for people like those in the Gallery. Thank God for Relatives for Justice, the Pat Finucane Centre and Justice for the Forgotten. Their tenacity, determination and absolute belief that loved ones would not be forgotten ensured that official Ireland had to change tack. I thank them again. We have to say with one voice across all political parties and on all sides of the House that Britain must be held accountable for the actions of its agents in Ireland. This House and the State also need to be held accountable for their failure to hold Britain accountable.

I will respond on one point. I thank Deputy Howlin for his contribution. The Deputy was a member of Government in 2014, when the Stormont House Agreement was passed by all parties in the North and by both Governments. The only signatory to that agreement that has failed in any way to live up to its responsibilities in respect of transparency, accountability, truth and justice is the British Government. This will be a stressful and emotional week for the families of Dublin and Monaghan but I hope it will also be a week of vindication.

I thank Margaret Irwin in particular. All of the people involved deserve great credit but Margaret Irwin has been a true champion of the families and of Justice for the Forgotten. We owe her and all those who have campaigned for truth and justice a debt of gratitude. I commend the motion to the House.

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