Seanad debates

Thursday, 10 May 2018

10:30 am

Photo of Rose Conway WalshRose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

-----because I have no doubt that a compromise can be reached, but it needs to be done properly.

Anybody who listened to "Morning Ireland" this morning would have heard Ms Emma Mhic Mhathúna, a 37 year old mother of five children, say she was dying but did not need to be and that her anger outweighed her fear of dying. While I hate saying this, the question must be asked as to whether it amounts to corporate manslaughter. What has happened to women like Emma which did not need to happen is absolutely scandalous, yet nobody is accountable. I met the man in charge coming out of a meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts as I came to the House. What does it take? What is it going to take for somebody to be held accountable? What is it going to take for somebody to put up his or her hands and say, "This happened on my watch. It happened under me"? I am not going to say any more about it today because I have no doubt whatsoever that there will be another Emma next week.

I want to look at the process of reconciliation on the island and the way it was turned into a political farce yesterday at Westminster. Victims have been let down by Mrs. Teresa May in preferring to pander to the worst elements of the Tory Party. I heard her being interviewed by Mr. Andrew Marr on Sunday when she made the scandalous suggestion everybody should be forced to speak the Irish language, as well as other nonsense that just beggars belief. The information she gave on legacy cases was inaccurate and is directly contradicted by the PSNI. The majority of historical investigations are being carried out into the actions of republicans and loyalists. An immediate release of funding for the legacy inquest plan is required for the commencement of consultation. Yesterday's actions at Westminster showed that the idea of nationalists taking seats there was more irrelevant than ever. I hope the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Simon Coveney, as co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement robustly responds to these false claims. Reconciliation and closure are needed by all those who have suffered as a result of the conflict. This needs honesty and openness, not political meddling by a dysfunctional government in Britain. Some families have been waiting for 40 years for an inquest into the deaths of their loved ones. The funding must be released and the process must begin. The worst scenario is for people to die and never know the true account of what happened to their loved ones. There is a lot of nonsense going on. Just because people are wearing a uniform does not make them exempt in the context of criminal activity. They should not hide behind this; neither should Mrs. May. Progress is needed and the Government must stand up on the issue. Some of the commentary I have heard suggests it has done so, but it really needs to stand up to the British Government and not let the nonsense from Mrs. May, backed up by the Secretary of State, Ms Karen Bradley, go unchallenged. I was disgusted when I heard it yesterday.

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