Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)

In recent times, a story from St. Louis attracted world headlines. A young man was abducted several years ago and presumed dead. Through vigilance and good police work he was found alive and returned to his family. We are all aware that many Irish families had a keen interest in this story. They are in a living hell as they also have loved ones who are missing. One can only imagine the nightmare of not knowing whether they are alive, dead or suffering. We all hear their isolated calls for help and see their messages at railway stations and bus stops.

At present, we are not pro-active in helping them. It is wrong to presume those missing persons are dead. We need a dedicated Garda unit with proper resources to pursue these cases. I am convinced many missing persons may be alive and a possibility exists that we could have another good news story like that in St. Louis.