Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. The nationalist people of the North in particular look to the Taoiseach, the Irish Government, this Chamber and the Dáil to protect and defend their national, human and civil rights, and none more so than the thousands of people whose rights, including the right to life, have been trampled over by successive British Governments.None more so than the thousands of people whose rights, including the right to life, have been trampled over by successive British Governments. Hundreds of nationalists and Catholics were killed as a result of collusion by the British Government's armed forces and loyalist paramilitary groups. Thousands of confidential files were handed over to loyalists by various intelligence agencies, all of the British Government. Directly and through loyalist proxies, the British Government could be responsible for approximately one third of all deaths in the conflict.

The Operation Greenwich report deals with the British Government's armed forces colluding with loyalists to kill 19 people, including Councillor Eddie Fullerton, a Sinn Féin councillor in Donegal, and Councillor Bernard O'Hagan, a Sinn Féin councillor in south Derry. This report follows other official reports into collusion, including: the Oireachtas report into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, which was described as state-sponsored terrorism; Stalker and Sampson investigations; the three inquiries carried out by Lord Stevens, the former commissioner of the London Metropolitan Police Service; Justice Cory's report; and the de Silva report.

Former British Prime Minister, David Cameron, apologised to the family of the murdered human rights lawyer, Pat Finucane, for collusion in his murder. The Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, will know that this House recently unanimously passed a motion calling for a full public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane. Relatives organisations, such as Relatives for Justice and the Pat Finucane Centre, published reports on the collusion, including Collusion 1990-1994: Loyalist Paramilitary Murders in Northern Ireland and the book Lethal Allies: British Collusion in Ireland by Anne Cadwallader.

All of these reports demonstrate clearly that there is an irrefutable paper trail of collusion leading to the front door of 10 Downing Street. What is the British Government's response to this overwhelming evidence? A proposed amnesty - a pardon, if you will - for all those involved in collusion. The Irish Government must ensure that this does not happen by supporting actions by relatives of those killed through collusion, by supporting the Stormont House Agreement and by lobbying governments and human rights organisations across the world. The British Government should abandon its amnesty plan, stop running away from the truth and implement the all-party agreed Stormont House legacy agreement, which is an independent process, is human rights compliant and can deliver what the families seek. That is the truth.

I would like to finish on this before the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, addresses the House. Next week marks the 30th anniversary of the awful massacre at the Sean Graham bookmakers' shop on the Ormeau Road. I raised that incident in this House last year. Families will gather, as they always do, to recite a rosary and lay flowers at the bookmakers' shop. Those families are expecting a further report from the police ombudsman which I have no doubt in its breadth and depth will go even further in highlighting the stark level of murderous collusion that existed between loyalist paramilitary gunmen and the British Government.

It is important that the community in the North hear responses from the Irish Government. As I said in my opening remarks, it is crucial that the Irish Government's voice on this issue continues to be heard on the international stage. I note and commend the work of the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, on this up until now. This is where we are at. It seems now one cannot go a week without another ombudsman's report or another case in the Belfast High Court, where families are, unfortunately, being forced to take the British Government to court because of the lack of truth and justice. This is having a traumatic impact. People are looking to the Irish Government to lead and to take actions. I look forward to hearing the Minister outlining what actions he proposes to take regarding the Operation Greenwich report.