Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that this has been for a long time extremely difficult for the families. In many of the Deputy's questions he has sought information as to why no Garda files relating to this case at all can be given to the families. This is an open case. This is still an open file. This is information the Garda has relating to an ongoing case. Irrespective of whether it is something as significant, large-scale and devastating as this or an individual case relating to one or two people, if there is an open file, if there is an ongoing investigation, if gardaí have information relating to that, it can never be released and will never be provided to the families. Information has been provided to the Barron and the McEntee inquiries. Those inquiries took place and that information was provided on that sound legal basis. There is also information within my Department, but there is archives legislation which sets out when, how and where information can be provided and, obviously, the law will be adhered to in that regard. I appreciate the difficulty this puts on the families, but the Garda has not said this is a closed case. It is actively seeking information to see if anything further can be done here. It is actively engaging with operations Kenova and Denton. It is actively seeking the truth to try to find the truth and answers for the families because, as I said at the outset, it is beyond regrettable that nobody has been held responsible for these atrocities.

As a Government, we will do everything we can to continue to work with the Garda and our UK counterparts and, above all, to continue to work with the families to try to find answers and to hold somebody responsible for these atrocities.

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