Barry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In the first instance, I welcome the documentary that will be broadcast on RTÉ 1 this evening at 7 p.m. about thalidomide and the unfortunate history our country has with the survivors of that drug and how important it is that we recognise, even at this late stage, the ordeal they went through.

I also want to use my time today to call for a debate on the Special Criminal Court. It is something we debate every year in the context of whether we approve its extension, but it is not really a proper debate from the point of view of exposing where each party stands on this issue. In the week when Jonathan Dowdall, a former Sinn Féin councillor, pleaded guilty to quite serious matters, on top of the waterboarding he had committed previously, it is appropriate that we would ask where parties stand on this issue. We should give each party an opportunity to say where they stand because Sinn Féin's leader has praised Jonathan Dowdall and described his resignation from the council as a great loss on the one hand, while Sinn Féin absents itself from debates on the Special Criminal Court on the other.The Labour Party has also criticised aspects of the Special Criminal Court. It is not perfect and I would be critical of aspects of it myself but I have been here and have voted in favour of extending it. That is not true of all parties in this House. It would be absolutely appropriate to have a debate here to allow those parties to put on the record where they actually stand on this court, which is not perfect by any stretch but which has important uses when you are dealing with the kinds of people who continue to infringe on the judicial process including the security of juries during criminal trials. It may not be perfect but it is a necessary evil. Is that something that every party believes? Does Sinn Féin believe that it is necessary? It appears to have changed its position on it but a debate would allow it to put on the record, once and for all, how it actually feels about the Special Criminal Court.