Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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177. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the efforts being made by his Department and the Government to put pressure on the British Government to get a public inquiry in place around the murder of a person (details supplied) in Bellaghy, County Derry. [26774/25]

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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243. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to report on his recent engagement with the family of a person (details supplied) and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27220/25]

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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What pressure has been put on the British Government regarding a public inquiry into the murder of Sean Brown, a GAA official, on 19 April 1997 at Drumanee Road in Bellaghy when he was closing the GAA club? This was a hard-working member of the local community who had done significant voluntary work on behalf of the GAA and in the community and was highly respected. I know from people living on Drumanee Road at the time that there was shock and horror in that area and the wider Bellaghy area at what happened.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 177 and 243 together.

I met with Sean Brown's family just over two weeks ago on what was the 28th anniversary of his murder. I was struck by Bridie Brown and her family and the anguish, pain and hurt they have been put through. The family have shown enormous strength and resilience in pursuing this case. I commended them on their tireless campaign for truth, transparency and accountability over the past 28 years. I reiterated to them that I will continue to use any influence I have, now and at every point, and that of the Irish Government to bring about a resolution that is acceptable to them. They want a public inquiry, they deserve a public inquiry and they need a public inquiry.

The various investigations conducted since the murder have failed to provide the answers needed by the Brown family and they have waited too long for the truth. I raised the case of Sean Brown with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in our first call after I took office in January as well as in a number of subsequent calls, most recently at the end of last week. I also discussed the issues with Secretary of State Benn at the meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference at Hillsborough Castle last month.

As I said when I was in Belfast last week to meet with the party leaders, it has been the long-established position of the Irish Government that the Brown family must have access to a mechanism that is compliant with Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This is something that has never been provided to them. This is not just my view. It is also the view of the courts. The courts in Northern Ireland have made clear their view that the Independent Commission on Reconciliation and Information Recovery as established by the UK Legacy Act cannot offer that remedy and that a public inquiry is currently the only mechanism available that can do so.

This case is exceptional in a number of respects. I know there is a lot of hurt and a lot of victims and unanswered questions in terms of truth, justice and accountability in Northern Ireland, but this case has exceptional characteristics. These include the rulings of the Northern Ireland High Court and Court of Appeal which identify a public inquiry as the only remedy; the material released by the Coroner's Court linking agents of the UK state to the murder; and the repeated frustration of a thorough investigation of the case by state agencies. These are important elements. My Department participated in the supervision of a review of the case following the report of the Police Ombudsman, which did not receive the information subsequently found by the coroner. Information was withheld from the various investigations to date. I will continue to raise this case with the Secretary of State in my discussions with him and to keep in close contact with the Brown family, their representatives and political representatives in this House and Northern Ireland, for whom I know this is an issue of the utmost importance, as it is for me.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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I am happy to hear about the Tánaiste's engagements on this issue. I mentioned that Sean Brown had a great reputation locally as a hard-working member of the local community and throughout the country with regard to the GAA. I commend the GAA on taking up this issue and the thousands of people who filled the roads and streets around Bellaghy in recent weeks. There was evidence of collusion. He was abducted and carried in a convoy that passed under cameras at Toomebridge RUC station. This fits in with the British counterinsurgency strategy that was set out by Frank Kitson 30 years earlier. It is sad to say that. It was the tail end of it. You were put up against the Good Friday Agreement. It was a clear strategy to lower the demands of the nationalist community. It would carry out these actions but keep them at arm's length. Great credit is due to the family. I urge the Tánaiste to throw everything he can at North-South meetings and intergovernmental conferences. Will he confirm whether the Taoiseach has taken it up with Keir Starmer? We do have proper relations between Great Britain and Ireland with the new British Government, which is welcome. It is better than it was. A number of matters are now being dealt with that had not been dealt with for a number of years.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Up to 25 people, including British state agents, could be linked to this murder. We know that surveillance was lifted for agents under surveillance. We know there are a significant number of issues regarding absolute collusion. I agree with what was said earlier. This was British state policy in Ireland. It was a matter of taking out Irish citizens. We commend the family of Sean Brown, Bellaghy GAA and the wider GAA. The Tánaiste is talking about supporting a full public inquiry as directed by the British courts. When the Taoiseach spoke about this previously, he conflated it to some degree with repealing the British Government's action with regard to the Legacy Act. This would not be sufficient for the family and a number of us in here. I welcome what the Tánaiste said so could I get some reiteration regarding that? How will we put pressure on the British Government regarding delivering for Sean Brown and his family, who have been failed over many years?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I join the Deputies in commending Bellaghy GAA and the GAA more widely. The president of the GAA, Jarlath Burns, attended the meeting with the Brown family when they came to see me. Sean Brown was a good, decent man locking up his GAA club when he was brutally murdered 28 years ago. Not only have no answers been given to his family and no Article 2-compliant investigation established, there have been clear active efforts to suppress information. It is also very clear from the rulings of the High Court and the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland that a full public inquiry is required and the involvement of agents of the UK state with regard to the murder of Sean Brown needs to be answered for. The family needs those answers. The Taoiseach and I are ad idem on this. I am quite sure the Taoiseach has raised it with the British Prime Minister and the Taoiseach and I have discussed it on a number of occasions. The Irish Government feels very strongly about this. At the moment, it is a statement of fact there is no available mechanism that is Article 2 human rights-compliant other than a public inquiry. Bridie Brown is in her late eighties. She deserves answers about the murder of her husband.

I will continue, as will the Government, to make that point at every opportunity in our engagements, including all our engagements with the UK Government.

As regards legacy more broadly, I hope that in the coming weeks we can reach a framework such that the two Governments can say, "This is a good way forward on the issue of legacy across this island." That will be a very significant moment for victims and families. I met a number of victims' groups yesterday on this. I met all the parties in Northern Ireland on this last Monday in Stormont, and we are working intensively to see if we can find a way forward.