Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I second the motion put forward by my colleague, Senator Ó Donnghaile. Many issues could be discussed today as serious issues are happening in our country. We decided, however, as a Sinn Féin team in this House that justice for the hooded men was more important than anything else. That was because this is a very time-limited decision. A decision needs to be made today and it needs to be followed up with a clear process.

We are discussing torture here today. I refer to torture inflicted on Irish citizens by the British Government. I pay tribute to those who suffered this torture and who are here with us today, as well as those who cannot be here. I think especially of Mr. Sean McKenna who passed away in 1975, shortly after being examined by a doctor in Dublin. The doctor cited Mr. McKenna's mistreatment as a cause of death. The groundbreaking documentary "The Torture Files" aired on RTÉ 1 in 2014 and focused attention on this case once again. I commend the RTÉ investigations unit and the Pat Finucane Centre on spending many months trawling through documents at the British National Archives in Kew. They discovered that, as early as March 1971, RUC officers were being trained in the application of the five techniques and that a facility to house the process was also in planning. It appears that the five techniques had ministerial approval and that the individual cases were settled out of court to ensure that no Minister, former or present, could be charged with the conspiracy. The Conservative Party Government of the day authorised torture and subsequent Labour Party Governments covered it up.

The 1978 judgment which turned torture into degrading and inhuman treatment had implications far beyond this island. In 2003, the US Attorney General quoted the 1978 ruling as justification for the use of torture and interrogation methods in Iraq, claiming that what was being done was not torture. Ireland, as a nation of people, has a reputation abroad for standing up against inhumane treatment. We would like to see our Government take stronger action against those who carry out torture and extra-judicial murder, but at least we call it what it is. Let us not be found wanting in our own country.

I am urging Senators to support this motion in order that the moral compass can be recalibrated. Treating individuals in the way described by my colleague, Senator Ó Donnghaile, is torture. The torture he described, which took place in Ballykelly and elsewhere, had a devastating impact on the lives of those who suffered through it and, indeed, who still suffer today as a result of it. Its impact was felt by the communities from which they came. They suffered with the victims. When one of their own was brutalised and tortured, the integrity of the community was dealt a blow. When injustice touches upon areas of human dignity there will always be a reaction. We must ensure that this never happens again. The first step towards achieving this is to define it accurately as torture. All forms of torture must be ended, in Ireland, in Palestine and beyond.

I understand there is cross-party support for this motion. The appeals process must be instigated immediately. I thank all of those who have taken an interest. I also thank my colleague, Senator Ó Donnghaile. It shows the merit of having somebody with a 32-county perspective in this House. We all have such a perspective but Senator Ó Donnghaile lives within that affected community and is able to bring the story to Leinster House. Until the presentation was done in the AV room a number of weeks ago and until we heard first-hand details from the men who had suffered and their solicitor, we were not conscious of it. The story has been brought back to us now. I remember being told about the hooded men as a child. It always seemed like something abstract, as if it could not have really happened. I particularly remember the story of people being dropped out of helicopters. There is a certain amount of disbelief involved regardless of who tells the tale. We might believe perhaps that there is a bias in the telling, but when one hears it straight from the mouths of the men involved and when they recount exactly what was done to them, there is no question that it has to be named and shamed and called torture. If what they outlined is not torture, I do not know what is.

I hope that this appeal will go forward. I trust that the Government will do the right thing. The natural next step is to appeal the ruling. It can be appealed before 18 June. That should happen. I think and hope that the result will be different this time around and that the men and their families will get the peace and justice for which they have waited decades.