Frank Feighan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Unike Senator O'Sullivan, I grew up some 40 miles from the Border in Boyle, County Roscommon. One of the great days of my life was the signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1985. I had just come back from Australia and Garrett FitzGerald was a hero of mine. The Anglo-Irish Agreement was not perfect. It failed to achieve reconciliation amongst the two communities and to stop political violence but it was the cornerstone of the Good Friday Agreement, which for more than 20 years has been ensuring peace on this island. My party has consistently worked to achieve a peaceful and prosperous future for the people of this island, North and South. In government, we helped secure the Sunningdale Agreement, the Anglo-Irish Agreement, the Stormont House Agreement and the Fresh Start Agreement. We will continue to work with the parties in the North and with the British Government, as we to seek to ensure that devolution is restored and that Northern Ireland's voice is heard again at this critical time. We are committed to this work, no matter how many setbacks may arise or how long it takes. This is a shared island with a shared future. We want to shape that future together, working together for the benefit of all of our people. Our vision for the island of Ireland embraces all identities, religions and minorities. Fine Gael has always been about building relationships and bringing communities and people together.We must recognise that unionism is integral to Irish culture, heritage and history. Comprehensive progress on legacy issues concerning the Troubles is crucial to meeting the legitimate needs and expectations of victims and survivors and contributing to broader societal reconciliation as an integral part of the peace process. The Government will continue to engage in support of that, consistent with its role and responsibilities as co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement. The Programme for A Partnership Government commits to building on the progress made to establish the comprehensive institutional framework for dealing with the past that is provided for under the 2014 Stormont House Agreement, keeping the needs of the victims and survivors at the core of its approach. Victims and survivors have had to wait for far too long for a suitable and effective system in Northern Ireland to deal with the legacies of the Troubles. During the ten years since the commencement of the Eames-Bradley process in June 2007, successive efforts have been made to address legacy issues, particularly to meet the legitimate needs and expectations of victims and survivors. However, this is still sought and urgently needed. We have engaged extensively with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and with all the political parties to support a way forward in implementing the comprehensive legacy framework agreed under the Stormont House Agreement. The Secretary of State agreed on the imperative of moving ahead with full implementation of the Stormont House Agreement.

I was very concerned by the announcement by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland on 14 February of receipt of significant new materials from the PSNI. The ombudsman indicated that the discovery of the new materials will delay the publication of the report into events connected to actions of loyalist paramilitaries in the north west between 1988 and 1994. Our thoughts are first and foremost with all the families affected. This is a most difficult and anxious time for each family affected, as they must now wait even longer for the ombudsman's report into their cases. It is important to allow the ombudsman, Mr. Michael Maguire, the necessary space to complete the investigation, taking account of the newly uncovered material. I hope the Government will keep this matter under very close review in the period ahead. The development makes clear that the Stormont House Agreement framework is urgently needed in order to provide a comprehensive process for addressing legacy investigations and issues in Northern Ireland which is focused on the needs of victims and survivors. I ask the Minister and the Government to continue to engage with the British Government and the political parties in Northern Ireland to seek the implementation of the Stormont House Agreement as soon as possible.

The Minister has said that we must address the legacies of the past and remember what happened. We have a duty to the families of those who lost their lives and those who were injured to provide whatever justice, truth and healing is possible. Moreover, human rights and the rule of law must be upheld for everyone. We need to learn the lessons of the past. Reconciliation will build a better future. We have been very concerned, and an all-party Dáil motion has called for an independent international judicial figure to review all original documents held by the British Government on the Dublin and Monaghan bombings and other attacks in the South. The Minister rightly said that we are conscious of the 21 families in Birmingham who are currently going through inquest proceedings concerning the pub bombings in 1974. It is a huge issue for each family, no matter where they live.

I had the pleasure of meeting with the family of councillor Patsy Kelly. His son, Mr. Patsy Kelly Jnr., gave a very measured and emotive outline of what happened to his father. I hope that we will call on the British Government to make a full disclosure on those awful events. As has been said, there have been several cases and court rulings in Northern Ireland which have highlighted the failings of the current system, in particular the unsustainable burden of investigating the past which has been placed on the PSNI when it should be focused on present-day policing.

The Secretary of State recently made remarks which were insensitive, hurtful and wrong. They were of huge concern. Victims were very upset. I was in Westminster at an event held by CHAMP, which brings politicians from the two islands, North and South, east and west, together to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. The Secretary of State apologised for those remarks. She noted how extremely hurtful they were. I felt that it was a sincere apology. She made a grave error of judgment, but I welcomed that apology. I have been to the inquest into the deaths of those killed at Ballymurphy in Belfast in 1971, attended by their families. I refer also to the 14 people killed in Derry on Bloody Sunday in 1972. We will continue to support those dignified campaigns for truth and justice. The Kelly family has a very dignified campaign, represented here today.

We in the west of Ireland were not directly impacted by the Troubles and the conflict in that awful 30 years of murder and mayhem. We always felt it was not our problem, but indeed it was. It was a problem for the island of Ireland and for the two islands, and we have come an awfully long way in the 21 years since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. I hope we can deal with the legacies of the past and increase the friendship and understanding across all political strands. We will have an agreed Ireland where we will co-operate and work together, as well as an agreed two islands, with the friendship between our island and the United Kingdom as good as ever. My father worked there for most of his life, like most Irishmen from the west of Ireland. They worked hard and they were part of the Irish diaspora.