Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

I wish to share time with Senator Feighan.

I welcome the Minister to the House and I thank the Government for providing time for this important debate. Senator Mooney, who has a long-standing interest in this issue, Senator Norris and I have sought a debate for a long time. I also welcome Mr. Peter Mulvany and his campaign team to the House. They have done trojan work in recent years to ensure this issue is taken seriously at political level. I welcome the production of the report on these soldiers by the Minister's Department, which was sent to the Foreign Office and it is important that pressure be maintained in this regard.

The debate is important now because the case of Private Harry Farr is before the British High Court and a determination in the case will be made shortly. We will have to wait to see whether the case has implications for the other 305 victims in this scenario. The debate is also important because I was heartened to hear from a colleague, Lord Alfred Dubs, who raised a question on the floor of the House of Lords in this regard recently. A total of 30 Lords backed his position that the British Government needs to move on this issue and that is encouraging. Cross-party support was achieved in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. It is also important to debate this issue now because the British Prime Minister has a great knowledge of Ireland and the peace process and he recognises the importance of this as an outstanding issue in terms of moving forward together in reconciliation while acknowledging our troubled past.

My great grandfather was taken prisoner at the Battle of Mons, ten miles from Brussels, in 1916. He was held for two years in a German concentration camp before returning in 1918 to a country that had been totally transformed as a result of what happened in 1916. He spoke passionately to older members of my family about the awful events in the trenches and the huge contribution made by Irish people, North and South, from all backgrounds to that awful campaign. My father was in the RAF in the Second World War, of which I am proud. He, along with many other people, took a stance against Naziism and the rise of fascism. There is a long-standing connection between the British Army and Ireland, in which we should take genuine pride because of the contributions of many thousands of Irish people during the First and Second World Wars.

One of the great stains on that noble tradition and connection is that 306 people, 26 of whom were Irish, were butchered as a result of appalling courts martial during and following the First World War. I do not see this as rewriting history in any shape or form, but as a means of righting a wrong and ensuring that their great contribution is recognised, not just by their families but by this country and Britain, their place in history is never forgotten and their position is cherished.

We have new evidence which questions the full nature and scope of the courts martial and I ask the British Government to respond to this issue. We know, for example, that many executions were commuted at the time because of the involvement of King George V or because of one's class. If those sentenced were from a well-to-do background, their execution was commuted, despite being guilty of appalling offences — offences that in the 1930s became irrelevant.

Has the Government examined the possibility of introducing legislation in this area to, in effect, give a retrospective pardon to the 26 Irish people? When we gained independence in 1921, we automatically took responsibility for all of the laws in place prior to that date. One of those laws allowed heinous courts martial which permitted execution. Have we examined the possibility, through the Attorney General, of providing our own retrospective pardon for the 26 Irish people killed in this manner? New Zealand has pardoned its people who were involved, but it is a member of the Commonwealth. We should consider this because we have a responsibility for all Acts passed, albeit by a foreign Parliament, before 1921. The issue of the executions is an issue the New Zealand Government raised successfully.

Those who took part in the war and who followed the advice given by John Redmond at Woodenbridge, "We must go where the fighting is fiercest", were volunteers and not conscripts. They fought for Ireland, their country and the home rule and independence cherished at that time. We must remember them and ensure their memory and contribution to this country are never forgotten. In doing that, we must embrace the mutual understanding of history which allows green and orange come together and allows a new reconciliation North and South. The fact that two diverse politicians such as John Hume and Ian Paisley could sponsor a Bill on this shows that this is an issue that can bring people together.

I welcome the Bill published by Andrew Mackinlay, MP, a Labour Party member and colleague of ours on the British-Irish Interparliamentary Body. He and others have done an important job in this area as has our Government. I hope we can move forward together on this issue over the coming weeks or months.