Ivana Bacik (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I commend Senator Ó Donnghaile and his Sinn Féin colleagues on putting forward this important motion which I am delighted to co-sponsor and co-sign on behalf of my Labour Party colleagues and the Labour Party group in the Seanad.

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and thank him for his fine words. We were emailed a copy of his speech which I was just rereading. He pointed clearly to the urgent need for the establishment of this inquiry. It is welcome to see such strong support for the motion and calls for the inquiry on all sides of the House.

I welcome John Finucane MP to the House and express my condolences to him, his mother Geraldine, his brother, Michael, and sister, Katherine. Rereading the account of what happened on that night in February 1989 is utterly chilling. One can only imagine the horror of that for him and his family.

I am glad also to support the motion as a representative of Trinity College graduates and a Dublin University Senator. Others have spoken of the connections to Trinity. Pat Finucane studied law there, as did Michael. He was a very fine student of mine in the law school. I subsequently worked with him on cases in the Special Criminal Court when he was a solicitor and I was a barrister. This motion has a particular poignancy for any of us who have worked in law, have connections to Trinity College or are conscious of the great work that Pat Finucane and his practice did over many years in representing people through the Troubles and since.

When one reflects that it has been 31 years since the murder in February 1989, what a different place Ireland is today and how much has changed across the island, it is extraordinary that we still have to debate this motion. That is the disappointment. While it is welcome to see such consensus across the House and building consensus elsewhere on the need for an inquiry, nonetheless 31 years is a long time for the family and everyone else to have waited.

When one thinks back 31 years, one reflects also on the many other victims and families who were bereaved at that time and over the years when the conflict was evident. It is welcome, then, that we are in changed circumstances, yet we still await this public inquiry.

The Minister, Senator Ó Donnghaile and others have rehearsed the stages, different processes, the agreement in Weston Park in 2001, the recommendations of Judge Cory, the raising of the murder of Pat Finucane at the UN General Assembly, the decision in the European Court of Human Rights, pressure in Europe, the ruling just last year from the UK Supreme Court, and numerous calls from human rights groups. All of these have over a long period made clear the case for an inquiry. There is welcome consensus in the House, as well as a growing consensus elsewhere. Our sister party in Britain, the British Labour Party, urged the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson last month to order a public inquiry.

As others have said, in the North, Sinn Féin, the SDLP, the Alliance Party and the Green Party joined together to issue a letter to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis, calling for a public inquiry. There is a good deal of political pressure coming on the British Government.

As the Minister said, this is a critical juncture because Brandon Lewis has now indicated that a decision will be made before the end of this month, which is next Monday. We are all conscious of the timing of this motion and the imminent decision we face. It is crucial that we see the decision made in favour of the inquiry, not just for the Finucane family but for all of those families who are bereaved and seek justice, truth and reconciliation.

I was struck in particular by the Minister's statement that the ordering of an inquiry would make a contribution not just to seeking justice for one family but a contribution to the wider collective task of reconciliation and the wider collective need to ensure the facing of difficult truths and that there is confidence in the rule of law. That is a fitting way to end when we remember the legacy of a lawyer who worked so hard to represent people in court and used the law as a vehicle to achieve justice. It is fitting that we might reflect that this call for a public inquiry is really a call to respect the rule of law and ensure that this contribution is made to the wider collective task of reconciliation. I am glad to support the motion. I very glad that it will not be voted on and we will all support it together.