Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Smith, for his response which was quite comprehensive. While we all acknowledge that an investigation may serve no purpose at this stage, 65 years on, I ask the Minister of State to convey the following to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, to whom I wish to speak on the matter shortly.

We should examine the verdict of the inquest and decide whether an apology should be issued based on that. "An apology" may be the wrong term to use, but perhaps "ownership of responsibility" might serve. As stated in the Minister's response, the verdict of the inquest stated that the deaths were caused by the explosion of the mine. The jury added riders to the verdict which stated — this is very important — that the disaster could have been avoided if the Garda sergeant at Annagry had cornered off the area in the immediate vicinity of the mine until the arrival of the military. That did not happen and that is the crux of the issue for the families. They want the onus of responsibility to be shared by the State. I ask the Minister of State to convey that message to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Brian Lenihan. I fully appreciate that he cannot be here this evening.