Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I join colleagues in seeking a debate on the report of the Smithwick tribunal, which makes for sad reading. As a long-time critic in this House of the failure by the British authorities to deal with collusion at various levels in Northern Ireland, I must also condemn the finding in this report of collusion by members of the Garda Síochána. It is unacceptable that any police force should have within its ranks people who subvert the law. We depend on the Garda for our security and, as Senator Ned O'Sullivan rightly said, its members have served us well in this State. Many of them have made the ultimate sacrifice in defence of the people and in upholding the security of the State. It is sad, therefore, to discover there were elements within the force who deviated from those high standards.

The debate should be broadened out to include other areas of collusion. Some weeks ago I raised the issue of the reported collusion highlighted by Anne Cadwallader in her book, Lethal Allies: British Collusion in Ireland. Some of us, including the Leader and me, have served on Oireachtas sub-committees where we heard evidence from members of the British army and the Police Service of Northern Ireland, various specialists and victims themselves. All those issues need to be lanced.

It is within six months of the 40th anniversary of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings, which caused the single biggest loss of life in the State during the atrocities. The fact that the people affected have found no closure in the meantime is nothing short of reprehensible. I believe this House could play a role in applying pressure. I agree with Senator Ó Clochartaigh that the State has faced up to the killing of the police officers, Superintendent Bob Buchanan and Chief Superintendent Harry Breen, but there is a need for the British Government to face up to the murder of Pat Finucane, which is probably the clearest illustration of collusion in all the atrocities that have been committed. I hope we will not have a one-sided debate on this.