Shane Moynihan (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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175. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on his recent engagement with the British Government regarding the Dublin and Monaghan bombings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27324/25]

Shane Moynihan (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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As we have discussed previously, 51 years have passed since the dreadful events of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings in which 33 people lost their lives and hundreds more, including family members of constituents of mine, were injured both physically and mentally. In a week when we spoke in the Dáil about the importance of seeking truth and answers for loved ones, it is very much a fact that the families of victims of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings do not have justice and do not have the full truth. I look forward to hearing how the Tánaiste is engaging with the UK Government on this matter.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and for consistently keeping it on the agenda in his time in the House. It is important that is done. Earlier this month, as he noted, we marked the 51st anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 17 May 1974. Those brutal attacks claimed the lives of 34 people, including an unborn baby, injured hundreds more and shocked the country to its core. More than five decades on, it remains deeply regrettable, to put it mildly, that no person has been held responsible for the attacks.

This House 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 the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. The absence of a substantive response from the British Government to date in respect of those requests is a matter of great concern. I raised this directly with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland at our first in-person meeting here in Dublin. It was also raised by the Minister for Justice and me on 24 April at the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference at Hillsborough Castle. I will continue to raise this issue and take the clearly expressed will of this House forward in all future engagements.

In line with the commitment in the programme for Government to address the legacy of the conflict in this jurisdiction, the Government remains committed to finding truth and justice for the victims' families and the survivors of these heinous attacks. We continue to make every effort to facilitate co-operation with legacy investigation bodies outside of this jurisdiction, such as Operation Denton and Operation Newham under the Kenova body of work. We eagerly await the publication of the Operation Denton report in the coming months in the hope it will provide families and survivors with long-awaited answers. It is important to reiterate that the investigation into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings remains an open case in this jurisdiction. Any new evidence that comes to light, from whatever source, will be fully and rigorously pursued by the Garda authorities.

Shane Moynihan (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Tánaiste as a fhreagra. As he noted, four all-party motions were passed by the House, in 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2016, urging full co-operation from the British Government. It seems the citation of national security as grounds not to enable that co-operation is held up as a flag. He mentioned Operation Denton, which is a welcome development in terms of investigating unresolved killings during the Troubles. I note that An Garda Síochána has co-operated with Operation Denton. It is important that this co-operation be reciprocated by the British Government in terms of the access to documents and details that is needed. The victims of these tragedies have gone for decades with unanswered questions about the truth of what happened on that dreadful day, which does not help them in any way to find closure for their grief. I urge the Tánaiste to continue his engagement with the British Government and to challenge its citation of national security as a grounds upon which not to co-operate with the investigation into these killings.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I agree with everything the Deputy said on this matter. I fully acknowledge that very country has a right, even an obligation, in regard to its national security. However, that cannot become a cover for not providing assistance that could and should be provided. This House and successive Governments have constructively put forward proposals as to how that access to information could be provided. Not much is unanimously agreed in here but the Dáil has unanimously adopted four all-party motions calling on the British Government to look afresh at our urgent request. We did so in 2008, 2011, 2016 and 2024. The motions called on the British Government to allow access by an independent international judicial figure. We thought that was the way forward.

My colleague, the Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, and I continue at every opportunity to pursue this matter. The Deputy is right that we want to get to an agreement in terms of a framework on legacy, whereby truth, reconciliation and justice can be accessed by people right across this island. It would be extraordinarily helpful for the British Government to recognise the express wish of this House and come forward with that information.

Shane Moynihan (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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The Tánaiste is entirely right. Government and Members of the Dáil owe it to the victims of those attacks to continually press the British Government on its use of national security as a shield for withholding that documentation. Will the Tánaiste directly challenge the British Government in his interactions with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and other members of the British Government on its use of national security to withhold documents? Will he give an assurance that victims' voices remain central to any engagement with the British Government regarding not only this set of tragedies but the wider legacy piece and if the Government has been given access to any preliminary findings from Operation Denton or any further insight into when the report of Operation Denton will be published?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I do not have specific insights into provisional findings from Operation Denton. I know it is hoped the report will appear in the coming months. We all hope this provides families and survivors with much-needed answers. I will continue to make the point, as will the Minister for Justice, regarding the importance of this information being provided and, more broadly, the issue of legacy. The Irish Government wants two things to happen with regard to legacy. We want a legacy infrastructure that is human rights-compliant and we want something that can bring victims and survivors, or at least as many of them as possible, with the process. Neither of those circumstances exist with the Legacy Act. There is really good and intensive engagement between the two Governments - my Department and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Hilary Benn. I am hopeful - it is not guaranteed - we can try to reach a landing zone in the coming weeks that could see us take an important step forward on legacy, which would be so important to so many people across this island.