Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I thank Members for their contributions and in particular Senators Bacik and Coghlan for the support expressed for the motion and for their obvious understanding of its intent. It is important we do not forget the events that lie behind the tribunal. The savage details of the cold-blooded killing of two unarmed police officers are set out in Judge Cory's report and, as he said, these shootings were brutal, cowardly and demonstrated a callous insensitivity to both the suffering of individuals and to life itself. While I would not suggest there is any hierarchy in terms of the degree of brutality attaching to the many murders which were committed in connection with the Northern Ireland Troubles, the murders of these two officers, as described by Judge Cory, leave one feeling particularly numb at the manner of their murders.

The two men were targeted in a well-planned ambush. Both Harry Breen and Bob Buchanan were hit several times by a hail of bullets while still in their car. Bob Buchanan suffered many fragment wounds in the head and upper body, and it is probable that he was dead by the time his car came to a stop. He had also been shot in the head at close range, almost certainly after he had died. Harry Breen had been severely wounded but it appears that he had left the car after it came to a stop, waving a white handkerchief. Eyewitness accounts indicated that a member of the IRA murder squad walked up to him and simply shot him in the back of the head.

This tribunal is carrying out an important inquiry to establish the truth behind suggestions that gardaí or other State employees colluded in those brutal killings and it must and will be allowed to carry out its work without hindrance. As I have already stated, it is my understanding that the concern about the public imposition of a completion date relates to the possible effect on witnesses of this approach and, in particular, the publicity surrounding the approach detailed in our motion. It is unfortunate that a public impression may have been created, fuelled, I might say, by uninformed public comment that this motion was about "winding down" or curtailing the tribunal.