Pearse Doherty (Sinn Fein)

That may be my fault for not advising the Chair.

Ar dtús báire, ba chóir dúinn a aithint go bhfuilimid ag caint faoi eachtraí inar chaill daoine a saoil. Tá teaghlaigh agus cairde na daoine úd ag gortú go fóill. Níl an fhírinne mar gheall ar na heachtraí sin faighte acu fós. Caithfimid aird a thabhairt ar sin. Bhí an ceart ag an tSeanadóir Walsh liosta na ndaoine a chaill a saoil de bharr na n-eachtraí seo a léamh amach. Ní hamháin go raibh státfórsaí na Breataine impleachtaithe go hindíreach i dúnmharú na ndaoine sin, ach gur mharaigh siad daoine go díreach sa Stáit seo. Maraíodh Aidan McAnespie, mar shampla, 20 bliain amárach nuair a scaoil Arm na Breataine é agus é ar thalamh na Fiche-Sé Chontae, i gContae Mhuineacháin. Ba cheart dúinn smaoineamh freisin ar óglach John Francis Green — mharaigh Arm na Breataine é agus é i gContae Mhuineacháin. Cuimhnimid freisin óglach Martin Doherty, a maraíodh anseo i mBaile Átha Cliath le tacaíocht indíreach ó státfórsaí na Breataine.

We must be mindful of all victims of collusion and of those who were directly murdered by British state forces on Irish ground as well as all other victims. There can never be a hierarchy of victimhood.

I am disappointed that the term collusion does not appear in the title of this debate. Are we afraid to acknowledge that collusion exists? Do people believe collusion is an illusion?

In reply to questions from my party colleague in the Dáil, Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, the Taoiseach stated that the Government would facilitate an agreed, comprehensive all-party motion on collusion and provide time to debate it. I welcome that response because these statements in the Seanad and the statements in the Dáil are inadequate without an agreed course of action or a resolution. It is not enough to state our views. I expressed this to the Leader on the Order of Business. When I voiced my dissatisfaction last week I asked for an all-party motion. He agreed to consult with leaders of the groups in the Seanad but the same statements are listed on the Order Paper.

The Minister indicated that meeting the families of victims of collusion is an indication that the Government will not allow these reports to gather dust on the shelf. The real indication would be a joint motion. Fine Gael, the Labour Party, Sinn Féin and the Green Party are all in support of that. Even Members from Fianna Fáil would support this. What is the delay? In asking that, I acknowledge the Taoiseach's commitment to Deputy Ó Caoláin.

Two years ago, the Dáil and the Seanad passed a motion calling on the British Government to establish an independent international inquiry into the murder of Mr. Pat Finucane. Two months after that, Mr. Ken Barrett, the only person convicted in connection with the murder, was released after serving three years. He was brought by the British Ministry of Defence to a secret hideout outside Ireland. A deal was done in the case of Mr. Ken Barrett. A guilty plea ensured no trial or exposure of the central role of British forces in the murder of Mr. Finucane. The same happened in the cases of other British agents involved in the Finucane murder, such as Mr. Brian Nelson. It is little wonder that the British Government has turned down the request of the Finucane family and the Oireachtas for a full inquiry.

Collusion is effectively ongoing. The British system is still protecting its agents and, for them more importantly, still protecting senior military and political figures who ran the system of collusion. For that reason the pressure must be kept on the British Government, and that pressure should include an Oireachtas motion. There also should be a dedicated summit meeting on collusion between the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister. A central focus of the motion, and of the summit, should be the demand for the British Government to release all relevant information in its possession.

In the Dáil yesterday, the Taoiseach said he could not envisage this information ever being released. That is not an acceptable answer from the Taoiseach. Anybody who doubts the reality and extent of collusion between British state forces in Ireland and Unionist paramilitaries need only examine the succession of reports that have been issued. The Barron report concluded, with regard to the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, that a cover-up involving British forces, the Garda and the Irish Government could not be ruled out. There are other reports from Justice Barron as well as the reports of the Oireachtas justice committee. There is the report into the murder of Patrick Finucane and the involvement of at least five agents of the British state in that killing. The report of the Independent International Panel on Collusion in Sectarian Killings concluded that in 24 of the 25 cases examined, including the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, there is "significant and credible evidence of involvement of police and military agents of the United Kingdom, both directly and in collusion with loyalist extremists". Finally, there is the investigative report of the former Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman, Nuala O'Loan, into the circumstances surrounding the death of Raymond McCord, junior, and related matters, which exposed the systematic reality and extent of collusion, including collusion in attacks undertaken by loyalist paramilitaries in the Twenty-six Counties.

I wish to mention the murder of Donegal Sinn Féin county councillor, Eddie Fullerton, in his home in Buncrana in May 1991. I was too young to know Eddie personally but the older Members of the Houses might have known him. He was a popular elected representative, not only in Donegal but throughout the country. He was an exemplary republican and a leader in his community. He was killed in this jurisdiction at the height of the campaign of collusion orchestrated by the British state forces in the North. The Garda investigation, if one could call it that, was inadequate. This State has as many questions to answer about the murder of Eddie Fullerton as the British state.

The Fullerton family has been campaigning for an independent public inquiry into Eddie's murder. They received unanimous backing from all parties on Donegal County Council for that call in 2005. In November 2006, the family finally met the Taoiseach after many requests but no inquiry has been announced or established. I ask Senators not only to support an all-party motion and a further debate on all incidents of collusion but also the establishment, without delay, by the Government of an inquiry into the murder of Eddie Fullerton.