Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 9: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his view on the recent investigation by the Police Ombudsman in Northern Ireland into the killing of Raymond McCord junior and other murders; if he has met with the McCord family to discuss the report; if he has discussed the report with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and the Chief Constable of the PSNI; his views on whether prosecutions must follow the findings of the report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4325/07]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Police Ombudsman's report into the circumstances surrounding the killing of Raymond McCord junior is a shocking catalogue of murder, serious crime and collusion: events which should never have been allowed to happen. Its findings are damning, particularly on the failings of RUC Special Branch in the 1990s. The Ombudsman has found that RUC officers colluded in crimes by their failure to tackle the most serious activities of their informants — including murder.

The position of the Government is clear: the Police Ombudsman's recommendations should be implemented in full; re-investigations should take place; prosecutions, where possible, should follow; and police officers implicated in wrongdoing should be held accountable for their actions.

I welcome the fact that the British Government and the PSNI Chief Constable have acknowledged these failures, have accepted the Ombudsman's recommendations, and have undertaken to implement them fully. For our part, the Government will closely follow all aspects of implementation of the Ombudsman's report.

The Taoiseach and I discussed the report with Secretary of State Hain at our meeting in Cardiff on Sunday. The Taoiseach also raised the report with Prime Minister Blair at their Downing Street meeting on 30th January last. We will continue to stress to the British that the report must be implemented in full, that the Police Ombudsman's office be given the necessary funds to investigate other past cases, and that a means be found of addressing the past which meets the needs of families and victims in this and other such cases.

At this juncture, it is also important to note the Police Ombudsman's assessment that the systems which led to failures of this type were part of a different policing environment to what pertains now. Since these events took place, there has been a transformation in policing in Northern Ireland. The policing and criminal justice systems have been thoroughly reformed. The strong accountability and oversight arrangements recommended by Patten, including the Policing Board and Police Ombudsman, are now in place and are working well.

I would like to take this opportunity to commend Raymond McCord Snr for his tireless efforts to uncover the truth. The Government has been in regular contact with Mr McCord over the last year at both political and official level. The Taoiseach met with Mr McCord on 22 March 2006. Our officials met with Mr McCord again last week and assured him that we will be closely monitoring the British response to the report.

Finally I would also like to pay tribute to the work of the Police Ombudsman and her staff. Yet again, her office has proven its worth with this latest report. In holding the police to account, she has been a central figure in building confidence in the new policing arrangements in Northern Ireland.