Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. He is a frequent visitor to Seanad Éireann and his frequent flyer card is well marked at this stage. I welcome the tribunal of inquiry which is both necessary and important. While I would have a certain amount of sympathy with Senator Clifford-Lee's criticism of previous Governments, there were people within government who were not silent on the whole issue of Sergeant McCabe, Garda John Wilson and others and I was one of those people. I raised it in this House in 2013 and 2014 and many times after that. I also spoke at parliamentary party meetings on the issue. I believed Sergeant McCabe had a credible case and I was probably one of the few voices here that called on the institutions of the State to respond positively, engage and deal with the issues. People like me, who were few in government, were vindicated when the O'Higgins commission of investigation published its report.

I listened with great interest to Senator McDowell this morning and again this afternoon. I have no doubt that he will be an active participant in the Charleton tribunal of inquiry when it starts next week. I have a lot of sympathy with the Senator's position on the six questions, which he put on the record during the Order of Business this morning and again this afternoon. The Tánaiste wants those six questions to be answered, as does every other Irish citizen. However, the last thing the Tánaiste or anyone else wants is for those questions to be answered and for that to prejudice anything. In that context, it is the prudent and correct course of action for the Tánaiste to request those answers in conjunction with the Attorney General. I call on all parties and institutions who can assist in the answering of those six questions, in the fullest way possible, to co-operate with the Tánaiste and her officials as a matter of urgency. The simple truth is not an issue and it should be made available. It is the least that all of us, citizens and parliamentarians alike, should expect. I may be going off script slightly in saying that but I believe it is the correct course of action.

I wish to pay tribute in particular to Deputy Jim O'Callaghan who has been most constructive. The same is true of many other members of the Opposition. The Minister of State alluded to the fact that a lot of work took place behind the scenes late last night and into early morning to ensure that the terms of reference were acceptable in the broadest sense and that there is confidence in this tribunal of inquiry. That has been achieved. I am grateful to Mr. Justice Charleton, a person of immense ability, credibility and of enormous standing in this country. He did not have to take this on but is doing it as part of his lifetime of public service and that is something that must be acknowledge in this House.

What happened in the past with tribunals of inquiry, where they went on for many years, must be avoided. We are in a different age now. We are in an age where an awful lot more material is available electronically so that if a document is required, it can be e-mailed without delay. In the late 1980s and the 1990s, when previous tribunals of inquiry were running, there was not so much electronic communication. The system and the world have moved on, thanks to the rapid development of new information and communications technologies. Of course, all institutions must co-operate in a speedy way with Mr. Justice Charleton and assist him in compiling the vast amounts of evidence, supportive documentation and research that he will need. There is an onus on the institutions that are covered in the terms of reference to co-operate fully and to make the necessary staff and resources available to achieve that.

I believe that the publication of an interim report in three months will be achieved and I sincerely hope that by the end of this year we will have a final report. I hope that a number of things are achieved with this process. The first is that Sergeant McCabe and his family receive justice and the answers that will provide a pathway for them to live the rest of their lives in peace. I also hope that the Irish people get the truth. I hope that An Garda Síochána will emerge from this as a much stronger force. It cannot be easy for the 14,000 members of An Garda Síochána to hear how the institution is being spoken about, day in and day out, every time they turn on the radio or the television because to be fair, the vast majority of members of An Garda Síochána go about their work in a dutiful and conscientious way. That must always be remembered in the discourse and dialogue that takes place on this issue.

In conclusion, this has not been an easy week for politics. It certainly has not been an easy week for the Government but it has not been easy for politics either. We have a responsibility to do what is right and I hope that now that a tribunal is about to be established, politics will be seen to have responded to the public mood but much more importantly, to a family who deserve and need justice.