Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this issue, and particularly for doing so on this day. I express my and this Government’s condolences to the families whose loved ones were killed or injured in the terrible events of 17 May 1974. Those callous acts will always be remembered as the single deadliest day of the Troubles, where 33 people lost their lives, as the Senator mentioned. Many others were injured and had their lives changed forever. It is, frankly, hard to believe on a day like this, when we think of everybody here in Dublin and in other parts of the country going about their daily lives, that so many ordinary people going about their lives on this day in 1974 were so callously and brutally attacked in the way they were. There were many such incidents of violence on this island during the Troubles. This was a tragic reality for those caught up in the bombings on 17 May 1974.

I state clearly the Government’s continued support for the victims and survivors of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. We will persevere in our efforts to seek the truth behind these events and, hopefully, to secure some measure of comfort for the families. Even though a long time has passed, it is important that we can secure that form of comfort for these family members. The Government has worked consistently to implement the all-party Oireachtas motions calling on the British Government to allow access by an independent international judicial figure to all the original documents in its possession relating to the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. We also continue to raise this case regularly with the Government of the UK. We did this most recently in March at the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney, raised the Dublin and Monaghan bombings with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis, and with the Minister of State for Northern Ireland, Conor Burns. Again, the Minister emphasised the need for this matter to be progressed.

Regarding Operation Denton, at the Senator mentioned, it falls under the general umbrella of the Operation Kenova series of ongoing independent investigations or reviews into the Northern Ireland legacy cases. It is led by a former chief constable. Operation Denton is an independent and analytical review into collusion involving the Glenanne gang. The Dublin and Monaghan bombings are included as one of the incidents in Operation Denton. I must stress that An Garda Síochána is committed to co-operating to the greatest extent possible with the Operation Kenova endeavours. A high-level agreement is already in place that supports co-operation and an exchange of information with the operation investigation team in the context of criminal investigations. The historical investigation co-ordination unit within An Garda Síochána continues to support this partnership.

As the Senator also mentioned, Operation Denton is a distinct strand in the work of Operation Kenova, which is an analytical review rather than a criminal investigation. It was as a result of this context that it was necessary to request legal advice from the Office of the Attorney General to progress clarification of how co-operation can take place within An Garda Síochána. Given the lack of a statutory framework for information sharing, co-operation necessarily involves complex legal issues. Following the receipt of advice from the Attorney General, work is already under way in my Department to establish the necessary mechanisms to allow relevant information to be shared with Operation Denton and it is anticipated that the mechanism should be in place by the summer. As Minister, I will do everything I can to ensure that mechanism is in place by the summer and that all information that can and should be provided by An Garda Síochána to this process is provided.