Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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129. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has raised with the British Government the need for full co-operation into investigations concerning the Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 1974. [15539/25]

Shane Moynihan (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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I am taking this question on behalf of Deputy Brendan Smith, who cannot be here this evening. He is a long-time advocate on this particular issue. Next May marks the 51st anniversary of the tragic events of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings where 34 innocent people lost their lives and over 300 people were injured. I ask the Tánaiste about the engagement he has had with the British Government on the very credible allegations of collusion with elements of the British security forces. What sort of reciprocation has there been to that engagement?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Moynihan for raising this question on behalf of Deputy Smith who has, as Deputy Moynihan has said, a long and active interest in these areas. Next month marks the 51st anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, devastating acts of violence in which 34 people, including an unborn baby, were killed and hundreds of people were injured. At the memorial event to mark the 50th anniversary of the attacks last year in Dublin, I was honoured to lay a wreath remembering those who tragically lost their lives and to meet with families and survivors. I commend them on their courage and dignity since the attacks and throughout their quest for truth and justice.

Our programme for Government clearly states our commitment to address the legacy of the conflict in this jurisdiction. We remain committed to uncovering the truth behind the bombings. The Dáil has unanimously supported four all-party motions calling on the British Government to allow access by an independent international judicial figure to all original documents relating to these atrocities. My predecessors and I have acted on those motions. The absence of a substantive response from the British side to date to requests for access to material is a matter of concern to me. I raised the issue with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland at our working dinner in Dublin on 26 February.

We continue to make every effort to facilitate co-operation with legacy investigation bodies outside of this jurisdiction such as Operation Denton, the ongoing independent analytical review into the activities of what was known as the Glenanne gang. Operation Denton is examining these bombings among other atrocities. Extraordinary steps were taken in 2022 by the then Minister for Justice to put in place a bespoke mechanism to allow relevant information from An Garda Síochána to be shared with Operation Denton, which forms part of the Kenova body of work. The much-anticipated publication of Operation Denton's report is anticipated in the coming months. I sincerely hope these findings will shed new light on the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. I will continue to take forward the clearly expressed will of the House in respect of these attacks.

Shane Moynihan (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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As the Tánaiste has rightly pointed out, five decades have passed and no progress on this matter has been indicated by the British Government. To any reasonable person, the passage of time in this instance negates any reasonable excuse for continuing to prevent access to that information. I welcome the Tánaiste's commitment and I hope we will see progress on the need to hand over all files and papers pertaining to this bombing to an eminent independent international legal figure. I note, as the Tánaiste has noted, the resolution of this House on four occasions, in 2008, 2011, 2016 and 2024, seeking the release by the UK Government of the original intelligence and security documents. Notwithstanding the call by a sovereign parliament on a neighbouring government to co-operate with a reasonable inquiry, the moral and legal obligation on the British Government to hand over these documents is quite considerable. As the relatives of those who suffered and lost loved ones in those bombings get older, the least the British Government could do is to recognise that pain and allow for that co-operation. I also ask the Tánaiste to strongly request full co-operation with the Garda investigation into the Belturbet bombings in 1972, in which teenagers Geraldine O'Reilly and Patrick Stanley were killed.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to speak. She will recall that, last year, I moved the fourth motion the Dáil has passed calling for every piece of available information to be fully divulged to all inquiries in respect of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. I join in today's repeat of that call. Is the Tánaiste satisfied that State agencies in this State have also endeavoured to ensure that all information within their possession is divulged to the appropriate authorities? That needs to be crystallised. We cannot call on the British Government to do something we are not doing ourselves. Of course, the difficulty is that it is beyond doubt that the British Government colluded in the murder of citizens of this State in this capital city and in my own county of Monaghan. It is beyond disgraceful and scandalous that it continues to withhold information that would allow the families affected to get to the truth.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputies Moynihan and Carthy. I will reiterate Deputy Moynihan's call in respect of Belturbet. I will also say very clearly that I expect all authorities to co-operate fully. That is why extraordinary steps were taken in 2022 by the then Minister for Justice to put in place a bespoke mechanism to allow relevant information from An Garda Síochána to be shared with Operation Denton. This assistance has been acknowledged, including by Sir Iain Livingstone, head of the Kenova review, who made reference to the high level of co-operation received from An Garda Síochána and the ongoing support of successive Irish governments. An Garda Síochána has also been assisting the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland in respect of Operation Newham which, due to its extremely broad-ranging nature, has been ongoing for a number of years. It is important to recall on the record of the House that the investigation into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings remains open in this jurisdiction. Any new evidence that comes to light from any source will be vigorously and fully pursued by An Garda Síochána. I hope the publication of the Operation Denton report will shed new light.

Shane Moynihan (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Tánaiste for that commitment and I acknowledge Deputy Carthy's role in moving the motion last year and his support on this particular matter. I have a question later on regarding the commitment from the UK Government to repeal the legacy Act, which I hope we will get to. The victim-centred approach needs to be at the heart of what we do here. I hope the intentions the UK Government has indicated in respect of the legacy Act will be followed through with a commitment, with progress on this particular matter, and with the sharing of those documents with an eminent international legal figure.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I again put on the record of the House our commendation for the Justice for the Forgotten group, without which I do not believe we would even have seen the progress we have. I acknowledge that, for many years, the victims' families and the survivors of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings were essentially ostracised. There were 30 years in this House when there was not even a parliamentary question submitted in respect of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. I appreciate that we have now moved to a point where not only is there cross-party support, but there is unanimous all-party support in this House. However, we need to recognise that if we are truly to deal with reconciliation and address the legacy of the past, the full facts of the atrocities that were carried out must be divulged. When a state actor such as the British State has within its possession information that could lead to some of those truths being uncovered but is withholding it, we need to raise our voice against it at every opportunity.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I join with Deputy Carthy in praising and commending Justice for the Forgotten and thanking it for its work. I assure him that, on behalf of the Irish Government and this House and in recognition of the mandate of the four all-party motions, I will continue to raise my voice at every opportunity in every engagement with the British Government, including the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, in respect of the absence of a substantive response to requests for access to material. That remains a matter of deep concern.

More broadly and to Deputy Moynihan's point, we are committed to working with the British Government to fulfil our shared responsibilities as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement and to see if it is possible to develop a shared approach on legacy, which I really hope it is. There is now intensive and constructive work taking place at official and political level. I had a positive and substantive discussion on legacy with the Secretary of State last month at the Ireland-UK summit in Liverpool following our detailed discussions in Dublin in February. The programme for Government explicitly states our commitment to working with the British Government as well as with victims groups and political parties in Northern Ireland to develop a fit-for-purpose mechanism to achieve truth and justice.