Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge our colleague, John Finucane, and all of the Finucane family for their courage and resilience. It is good to see the Minister and he is very welcome here.

So much has been written and spoken about this issue. In terms of reflecting what we know, we know Pat Finucane was a fine lawyer. We know he successfully challenged the British Government at the European Court of Human Rights over its incarceration policies in the mid-1970s. He was instrumental in galvanising opposition to the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, which was facing a barrage of international criticism. We know he had been threatened several times by members of the RUC. We know, crucially, that four senior RUC men went to Douglas Hogg and specifically complained about Pat. Then, we had the infamous speech by Hogg in the Commons where he said he had to state as a fact but with great regret that there were a number of solicitors who were unduly sympathetic to the cause of the IRA. There were huge protests about that statement and Hogg went on to clarify that he had not been speaking of the legal profession in the North as a whole, which he had not been, but of course that was entirely the point. He was green lighting the assassination of one particular lawyer. As we know, less than four weeks later, two gunmen were striding down the Finucane's hallway opening fire.

We know Pat was shot dead by a loyalist gang that included at least four agents working for the special branch and MI5. Why was Pat murdered? Geraldine put it best. She said Pat was killed because he used the legal system for people who previously had no one to do that for them. People who are repressed generally do not have any representation but Pat was educated. He decided to become a lawyer and he wanted to give something back to his community. People who previously had no representation suddenly had someone to represent them.

When we think about the scale of what has happened and the refusal of the British State to acknowledge what has happened, it is important to reflect on the experiences of key personnel. John Stevens has already been mentioned and he made a key quote about his time in the North investigating collusion. He said in almost 30 years as a policeman he had never found himself caught up in such an entanglement of lies and treachery. It is shocking to think that of the 210 people arrested through his inquiry, all but three were employed by the British state, either in the army, the RUC, MI5, MI6 or indeed a combination of these. This points to the true story which still is largely hidden. It points to the constant refusal of the British Government to have this public inquiry and the shocking quote we have heard with regard to David Cameron. It begs the question: When a state force acts to murder an officer of its courts, how can it call itself a legitimate institutional democracy?

I have to say it is heartening to see unity on this issue from the Irish Government. I pay tribute to successive governments on the support they have given. Of course, the world is watching the British Government, including Amnesty International and the US Congress. As far back as 1999, Param Cumaraswamy, the then UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, stated "an inquiry could finally lay to rest the lingering doubts about this brutal murder, which has had a chilling effect on the independence of the legal profession in Northern Ireland". All that is being sought is the truth. If the British state fears or flinches from this, then its own people should fear it and its ability to administer justice into the future. Please, let us all unite here this evening to demand the full truth of this man's murder and the full extent of the collusion of the British state. A public inquiry must be the just demand of every Member of the Seanad.