Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)

Christmas is a particularly joyous occasion for most people. However, for those who have lost loved ones it can be a very sad and lonely occasion. It is a particularly difficult time for one group of people, the families of missing persons. Those families are in limbo. They obviously hope for the best but perhaps fear the worst. In the main, they have had to carry out their own inquiries and investigations. They have travelled to bus stations, railways stations and other public areas and put up posters in the hope that they will get some information. The posters are pretty faded but the torment still continues.

Ireland has had a particularly high proportion of missing persons. There must be people who have information on some of these cases. Would it not be a lovely Christmas present for a family if somebody came forward with good news or even if it is bad news, it would give the families an opportunity to grieve properly? We cannot continue to bury our heads in the sand on this issue. It is not only a question of one or two cases.

I have been in communication with one family for quite a long time. They lost a daughter. She was on her way from Dublin and disappeared. The lives of the members of that family have completely and utterly changed. It is important for us to do anything we can to help these families. In the past I called for resources from Government and they were provided. A missing persons task force was set up and resources were provided to the Garda. Some individuals, not necessarily the people who were directly involved, must have some information. If this message gets out, I make an appeal that at least somebody would come forward to try to help to resolve some of these cases.