Niall Blaney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I was not expecting to conclude so quickly. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, to the conclusion of the debate. We had a good discussion with the Minister and he has acceded to the request to reopen and review the case by meeting the families concerned. We are delighted with that news.

To refer to the speech made by Senator Currie. There is something rotten that has happened over the years in the Border areas. She referred to Paul Quinn. That is at the core of this. As Senator Wilson said, this is not about getting at Sinn Féin. I commend Senator Ó Donnghaile for being here tonight but I will continue to call out his party’s republican stance until issues like this are addressed. We appeal to the Senator as much as to anybody else tonight to go back to his leadership. Oliver McVeigh’s family lives over the road from Michelle O’Neill. This applies as much to the current leadership as to the past leadership. He worked for her father. Have we any sense of the republicanism they keep talking about and coming in here telling us about? Sometimes I find it hard to listen to the rhetoric from the likes of Senator Gavan. Where is he tonight? A so-called republican. I do not mind the rhetoric, but if you are going to be a republican, back it up.

This is not a threat but a case we are making. If our appeal is not heeded tonight, every chance I get, when somebody in Sinn Féin comes in and refers to themselves as a republican, I will question it on the floor of the House or at any opportunity. The request is measured and needs to be taken with the same respect it has been expressed with tonight. We ask Sinn Féin Members to go back to their leadership with a new sense of urgency about these cases.

We will have a swathe of gatherings around flags and everything else over Easter. In Monaghan, they will be out calling themselves republicans, talking republican language and talking about their comrades over the Easter period. Talk to any of these families of the disappeared and they will say that somewhere between six and 12 individuals were involved in each disappearance. We are not depending on one individual for information. The information is there. We know it is there. There has to be a proper approach by Sinn Féin to uncover this information. That is our appeal tonight, to Sinn Féin Members as much as to the Ministers, to work collectively to bring this sorry saga to an end. It has to be brought to an end.

I thank Senators and the Minister of State for being here. I thank all contributors and the families. I acknowledge the continued efforts of the WAVE Trauma Centre in Belfast and other locations across Northern Ireland and the support it gives victims of all descriptions.