Seanad debates

Wednesday, 25 June 2003

Adjournment Matters. - Murder of Councillor.

 

10:30 am

Jim Higgins (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach for choosing this important matter for discussion on the Adjournment. In the early hours of 25 May 1991, Sinn Féin councillor, Eddie Fullerton, was gunned down at the bedroom door of his house in Buncrana, County Donegal. Reports at the time stated that three men had been involved in the murder, that they had been collected by boat and had escaped across the River Foyle and that a burned out car was left in their wake. The UFF claimed responsibility and said that Councillor Fullerton was gunned down in retaliation for the killing of a Protestant man, Ian Sproule, in Castlederg almost six weeks previously.

For 12 years the perpetrators of the crime have remained at large. However, on Sunday last, 22 June, journalist Frank Connolly revealed sensational evidence in Ireland on Sunday which throws the case wide open and which makes it imperative that a new investigation must be established. The new evidence points the finger in the direction of British intelligence involvement in the murder of Councillor Fullerton and the possibility that the Garda Síochána colluded in the occurrence, certainly from the point of view of not carrying out a proper investigation.

The new information comes by way of a detailed statement, which, I understand, has been or is about to be given to the office of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, by a reputable individual from Derry. This individual witnessed certain activities in the hours immediately after the murder. The new witness says he was afraid to come forward until now because, naturally, he was concerned that he might also become a target for assassination. The witness is adamant that he saw an unmarked RUC Sierra vehicle pick up the killers at a remote location in County Derry, within a half an hour of the shooting and after they had burned the car used in the killing. The gang of three was taken in an RUC vehicle to Derry, through a permanent British army checkpoint.

Within hours of the killing, the witness told RUC officers and a Garda superintendent that he had seen three men in khaki clothes and hoods close to where the burned out car was found. However, he was never asked to make a signed statement and has never been approached since then by either the RUC or the Garda Síochána about the killing.

The one interview he had with police was when he was visited by two RUC officers who came to his home and introduced him to a Garda superintendent sitting in the back of an RUC patrol car. He described the clothing of those he believed to be the killers, one of whom had fair hair and was in his late 20s or early 30s. The witness's description of the three men matched that given to the Garda Síochána by a Buncrana family who were held hostage in their home near Mr. Fullerton's house and whose car was used by the gang in the attack.

The Fullerton family has repeatedly criticised the Garda inquiry. Their house was isolated by gardaí for 48 hours, yet key evidence, including hair apparently from the killers, was not retrieved. The dead councillor's personal ledger, containing confidential notes and diary entries, was never returned to his family and there is other disquieting evidence which time does not permit me to explore here.

It is known that the killers came from, and escaped back, North of the border. Some 12 years have elapsed and nobody has been charged with, let alone convicted of, the murder of Councillor Fullerton.

A witness has now come forward who is reputedly reliable and prepared to put his heretofore uninvestigated and substantial evidence before the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The evidence points clearly in the direction of involvement by the notorious force research unit, an MI5 dirty tricks unit, which operated on both sides of the Border and, in this particular case – I say so advisedly – with Garda collusion from the point of view of lack of investigation.

What is patently obvious is that the Garda investigation has not yielded up the killers and will not do so at this stage. Neither will the RUC investigation do so, if any is carried out. There is a clear obligation on the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to institute an entirely new inquiry, given the failure of the Garda and the RUC to solve this murder.

Due to the international nature of the crime, given its cross-Border dimension, this inquiry should be headed by a reputable person from outside either existing police force. I would support an inquiry headed by somebody of the integrity, status and independence of Mr. John Stalker. This is something that the Minister must do.

Photo of Willie O'DeaWillie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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On behalf of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, I thank Senator Higgins for raising this matter and for providing me with an opportunity to address it.

Let me state, unequivocally, my abhorrence at the heinous murder of Mr. Eddie Fullerton, who was at the time a Sinn Féin councillor on Donegal County Council, in the early hours of the morning of 25 May 1991. The attack was brutal and also involved the taking hostage of a family in Buncrana. Unfortunately, to date, no person has been made amenable for this dreadful crime, but the file remains open.

As I am sure Senators are aware, responsibility for the murder was claimed by the Ulster Freedom Fighters, which said that Councillor Fullerton was killed because he had passed information to the IRA. The subsequent Garda investigation indicated that there was no evidence to substantiate this claim, not that this is in any way relevant to what was, after all, a cold-blooded murder.

I am aware of the report in the newspaper in question on Sunday, 22 June 2003, to which Senator Higgins referred. However, on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, I have to say that nothing in the article indicates to me that a separate inquiry into the allegations would be an appropriate or commensurate response.

The unfortunate reality is that accusations and allegations can easily be made, particularly from behind the cloak of anonymity, and the connections that are attempting to be made between the murder and the subject matter of the Morris tribunal are, at best, somewhat tenuous. The anonymous person to which the newspaper journalist spoke, dubbed "the witness", apparently on reflection, concluded that the men he had seen outside his home had been involved in the killing.

In any event, I understand from the newspaper article that the person in question reported the matter to the appropriate authorities, and I have no reason to doubt that the information provided was taken into account in the subsequent investigations. I am not aware of any credible grounds to suggest that the Garda Síochána failed, in any way, to properly handle its investigation.

I do not consider that the information in the newspaper report provides a reasonable basis for believing that the matter comes within the natural domain of the Morris tribunal, which has, as its principal focus, matters arising from Garda actions connected with the McBrearty case and surrounding events.

The evidence is that Councillor Fullerton's murder was the work of loyalist terrorists, who claimed responsibility in the aftermath. It would not be appropriate, therefore, to bring what, on the evidence, appears to be an entirely separate matter within the remit of the Morris tribunal. Should any person consider that they have information of material relevance to the investigation of the murder of Councillor Fullerton, I would call upon them now, as a matter of urgency, to contact the Garda Síochána and to allow the appropriate authorities to progress matters.

I note from the newspaper article that there is some intention to submit what is described as a "detailed statement" by the anonymous person to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. While any such written communication will be received by the Minister, both he and I are firmly of the view that the appropriate authority to investigate criminal activity of this kind is the Garda Síochána. It is to that authority that any such written communication will be transmitted.

As already stated, the investigation file in the case remains open and, hopefully, the opportunity will arise at some stage to bring the perpetrators of this terrible crime to justice.

Jim Higgins (Fine Gael)
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Will the Minister of the State give an assurance the matter will be investigated if the new independent witnesses come forward and Mr. Greg O'Neill, the solicitor acting on behalf of the Fullerton family, presents the file containing the evidence to his Department? Does he accept the Garda is not the appropriate authority to investigate this matter, given that 12 years has elapsed and there is a cross-Border dimension to the case involving both the Garda and the RUC, which calls for an independent inquiry? Will the Minister of State give an assurance, which I seek advisedly, that the investigation will be carried out by an authority independent of the police forces in both jurisdictions because both have manifestly failed to deliver the people who perpetrated this horrendous crime?

Photo of Willie O'DeaWillie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I assure the Senator if new information is made available to the Garda, it will be investigated by the force. With regard to the other matters he raised, I will pass on his comments to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. However, we remain convinced the Garda is the proper authority to investigate a case of this nature and new information will be fully investigated and pursued.

The Seanad adjourned at 8.30 p.m. until 10.30a.m. on Thursday, 26 June 2003.