Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 48: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on his recent meeting with the SDLP on the issue of collusion. [4369/07]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I met with an SDLP delegation on 24th January last to discuss the Police Ombudsman's report into the circumstances surrounding the killing of Raymond McCord junior and to consider the report's implementation and follow-up. Our discussions also focussed on the broader issues surrounding collusion.

I stressed that the Government would press the British Government to ensure that the recommendations of the Ombudsman were implemented in full. This has to include full accountability, reinvestigations and the pursuit of prosecutions, as well as ensuing that the office of the Ombudsman is properly resourced to investigate other past cases. I confirmed that the Government would also continue to pursue its concerns around collusion with the British side, especially in the context of the various reports by Justice Barron, the Oireachtas sub-committee and the forthcoming MacEntee report.