Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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The next Member present, for Question No. 7, is Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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7. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the timeframe for making progress on unresolved issues regarding the Dublin and Monaghan bombings; if he will request his British counterparts to release all outstanding documents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11897/16]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I welcome Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan back to the House. I had been looking over towards her more familiar spot opposite me but I welcome her to the upper reaches of the benches.

Dealing with the legacy issues of the past relating to the conflict in Northern Ireland and the Dublin-Monaghan bombings is a major priority for me as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and for the Government. Moreover, this commitment also is reflected in the new programme for Government. Members will be aware that yesterday, this House debated and adopted an all-party motion, supported by the Government, on the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. This motion recalls the two previous all-party motions of 2008 and 2011, which call on the British Government to allow access by an independent international judicial figure to all original documents in their possession relating to the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. Yesterday’s debate and all-party motion are important in reaffirming the shared will and determination of the Thirty-second Dáil to secure progress on the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. The motion renews the mandate to the Government to actively pursue with the British Government the implementation of the 2008 and 2011 all-party motions. The Government is committed to actively engaging in this regard.

As Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, I have previously discussed the implementation of the all-party motions with the British Government on a number of occasions, including most recently on 9 May with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. I have made clear to the Secretary of State that there is a pressing need to provide answers to the families of the victims. The Taoiseach has raised this issue with Prime Minister Cameron while emphasising the Government’s continued support for the Dáil motions. Despite our urging, the British Government is still considering how to respond to the previous Dáil motions. I will, however, continue to raise this issue with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in our forthcoming meetings when I will also bring to her attention the latest all-party motion passed yesterday in the Dáil.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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I thank the Minister and wish both Ministers well in their new roles in this Dáil. The Minister, Deputy Flanagan, and I had a similar exchange on this matter in February 2015 and he said then, as he has just said now, that he has raised the issue with the Secretary of State. The Minister's reply then was "she would consider afresh how the British Government can respond to the Dáil motions". Members are now into their third motion, with the first passed in 2008, the second in 2011 and the third in 2016. My question is: how long does it take to consider something? Theresa Villiers has now taken more than a year on this matter. Members are aware that the Taoiseach has raised repeatedly this question with David Cameron and I will cite a recent article in which he stated this must be "adequately addressed if we are to achieve a genuinely reconciled society". It is the height of disrespect on the part of the British Prime Minister to treat the Irish Prime Minister in such a way, that is, in spite of the Taoiseach repeatedly raising this matter, no progress is being made. Members are aware of this and are aware that through the Justice for the Forgotten group, the families have been waiting for more than 40 years for these answers.

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I assure the Deputy this issue will continue to be a priority in my deliberations with the Secretary of State and the British Government. I also am aware of the Taoiseach's positive and constructive engagement in this regard. Last week on 17 May, the forty-second anniversary of the bombings, I represented the Government at the commemoration ceremony and stood in solidarity with the families of victims and survivors of the atrocity in the constituency represented by Deputy O'Sullivan. Decades-old cases, such as the Dublin-Monaghan bombings, must be adequately addressed if we are to achieve a genuinely reconciled society.

Successive Irish Governments, in our ongoing bilateral relations with the UK and through the European Court of Human Rights at Strasbourg, have consistently raised with the British Government the obligation to ensure effective investigations of such cases, including in instances of alleged collusion.

Many families continue to deal not only with the awful pain of losing a loved one, but also with the struggle for answers decades after these traumatic events.

Following the Assembly elections in Northern Ireland and the formation of the Executive yesterday, I wish to assure the Deputy and the House that I will continue to renew a positive and vociferous round of engagements on this issue.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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We have had two recent examples. First, the way in which the people of the Bogside in Derry coped with the apology from David Cameron. Second, a couple of weeks ago, we saw the joy, albeit mixed with sadness, of the families of victims of the Hillsborough tragedy because they were able to get to the truth of what had happened.

The Justice for the Forgotten group and the families of those killed and injured in the Dublin-Monaghan bombings are still waiting. The onus is on the Government to push this further. I do not know what the British Government is afraid of, but obviously they are afraid of the truth. This country has been reaching out. We have had the Queen's visit and the current visit of other members of the British royal family. It beholds the British Government to treat us with the same respect that we are showing to those members of the royal family.

The Minister is doing more to support the families concerned by highlighting this issue than has been done by previous Governments since 2008. If there is no specific timeframe from the British authorities as to when all the documents will be released, the Government should be prepared to take the matter further.

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I remind the House that addressing the needs of victims and survivors is at the core of the Government's approach to dealing with the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland. Indeed, this is reflected in the recently agreed programme for Government, as published. We will continue to work to build on the progress made in the all-party talks last autumn, to see the establishment of a new institutional framework on the past, as agreed under the Stormont House agreement.

Following the formation of the Northern Ireland Executive, I hope that new and positive ways can be found to establish the legacy bodies in the near future. I will continue to prioritise these issues and actively engage with the new Northern Ireland Executive and the Secretary of State.

I wish to assure the Deputy that at the earliest opportunity - at my next meeting in the coming few weeks - I will again stress the importance of movement on this issue as being a priority for our Government. In the context of yesterday's all-party motion, I believe that will strengthen my hand and that of the Government in dealing with this issue. I undertake to report back to the Deputy and the House at the earliest opportunity.