Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)

I dtosach báire, ba mhaith liom moladh a thabhairt don Taoiseach mar gheall ar an tsárobair a dhein sé maidir le próiseas na síochána. Mar a dúirt mé sa Teach seo cheana, níl aon amhras ormsa ach go bhfuil áit faoi leith bainte amach aige i stair na hÉireann, agus, ar ndóigh, do gach éinne eile a chabhraigh leis chomh maith.

On a previous occasion here I availed of the opportunity when commenting on the work of the Taoiseach to say that I believe he had already secured a positive place in the annals of Irish history as a result of his work on the peace process. I commend him and all others and, in particular, our two colleagues who have been rightly mentioned here, Senator Mansergh and Senator Maurice Hayes, two men of the highest calibre, who have not just demonstrated wisdom but courage, balance and vision. They were particularly important.

If one looks over the debates in the Official Report one will find fluctuation from one incident to the next. It was always important that we had an anchor to ensure that whatever progress was made could be built on. In his contribution today, the Taoiseach rightly asked who could possibly have envisaged years ago that we would reach this juncture. That is correct. In years to come we will look back on this debate and, hopefully, judge progress on the sentiments and aspirations being expressed here. I would hope one of those occasions will be when we are welcoming a united Ireland when all the people on this island together, irrespective of party politics or religious persuasion, will come to the realisation that we have one island, that we live in a greatly changed world, that we have much in common and have proved time and again it is possible to harmonise different policies and aspirations.

We all realise and are fully conscious of the import of the famous dictum, "All it takes for evil to prosper is that good men do nothing". That is one of the reasons it was necessary for us today to try to bring about a democratic approach to the difficulties. In regard to the evil that took place for decades in the North of Ireland many good men and women acquiesced and said nothing. A fascist, paramilitary-style police force — the B Specials — ran riot against ordinary, honest to God people in order to uphold a corrupt and undemocratic regime on this island. The RUC was a sectarian police force and there is absolutely no doubt that, as a result of the many independent inquiries we have had, its members were up to their eyeballs in collusion with loyalist terrorists. Look at what happened concerning the collusion with British security forces as regards the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. We had to push that inquiry to one side because we could make no progress. Names such as Finucane, Hamill, Nelson and others are a testimony to the corruption that existed in the North of Ireland and that was also perpetrated in the Republic.

It was not my intention to say such things until I realised that in the intensity — and I would say it is with goodwill — of the current momentum, there seems to be a move to consider only the sensitivities of the Unionist community, which is right. However, it is not right that there should be no perception of a conspiracy of silence when it comes to the outrageous sectarian attacks which are being perpetrated against Nationalists and Catholics in the North of Ireland by loyalists, with insufficient condemnation from Unionists. If we go down the road once more of creating an imbalance then it could be said to us in years to come that the reason that evil thrived was because good men and women said nothing.

We all have memories of the terrible days we have come through, but we are also well aware of the magnificent opportunities now at our disposal. Over the years I have had nothing but the most co-operative relationships with the Unionists of Northern Ireland. I had a good friend in Sir Robert Kidd who was the former chairman of the Northern Ireland Civil Service. I was chairman of a body of which he was vice-chairman. On many occasions, I travelled to the North of Ireland with Mr. Paddy Teahon for meetings on specific issues in the North. Even though one may come from a different political background and tradition, I never encountered any difficulties because we were not dealing with megaphone diplomacy.

We must be sensitive about the views of Unionists but we must also be sensitive about the views of Nationalists. I praise the leadership of Sinn Féin. As Senator Mansergh said, this is unprecedented in Irish history; the Leader also pointed to that fact. Only for that leadership, which is so committed and astute, I fully accept that we would now have splits and further violence on this island.

My proudest day will be when representatives from the North of Ireland come here to debate issues of common cause in a balanced way. I salute the Taoiseach and others of all political affiliations who have contributed to this historical development.