Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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91. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the contact he has had with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland or members of the Northern Executive in relation to the work of the independent commission for the location of victims' remains; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48974/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I meet regularly with my Northern Ireland counterparts to discuss a full range of cross-Border criminal justice and policing issues of mutual interest. Naturally, issues related to the victims of crime and of troubles-related incidents feature in our discussions. The House will be aware that there is one very particular group of victims created over the course of the conflict in Northern Ireland. There were a number of people abducted and murdered by paramilitary groups, and then buried in secret locations. They have become known as "the Disappeared".

The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains was established by the Irish and British Governments in 1999 as one of the actions taken in the context of the Peace Process to acknowledge and address the suffering of the victims of violence as a necessary element of reconciliation. Its purpose is to facilitate the location of the remains of the Disappeared in order that they may be returned to their families to receive a decent burial and that the families will then have a grave at which to grieve and to remember. These families have suffered a very particular cruelty in not only having to bear the tragedy of murder, but having been denied for so long information regarding the burial places of their loved ones.

Previously, the then Minister of State for Northern Ireland, Hugo Swire MP, and I met with the Commission and with the group of victims' families and heard of their suffering and their concerns at first hand. I pay tribute to the families' dignity and fortitude in the face of their suffering. Once again, I extend my deepest sympathy to them on their loss and assure them of my continuing support for their efforts to recover their loved ones. The Taoiseach met with the families and the Commission in July and he also assured them of the Government's continued support for them and its commitment to this humanitarian process.

The Commission, with the continuing support of the two Governments, has worked tirelessly over the years in pursuit of its task and it continues to so do. On the occasion of the National Missing Persons' Day event at Farmleigh last week, I met with Commissioner Frank Murray and he provided me with an update on the Commission's ongoing work. He emphasised to me once again that the Commission is continuing its inquiries in relation to the seven persons on the Commission's list whose remains have not yet been located but that the Commission requires further information to progress its efforts.

I am sure Deputies will join with me in encouraging anyone with information that could help to locate those still missing to give that information to the Commission without delay. Information about the Commission and how to contact it are available on the Commission's website – www.iclvr.ie. I would emphasise that all information provided to the Commission will be treated as strictly confidential and can only be used to locate and identify the remains. The Commission's purpose is humanitarian. All the families want is to give their loved ones a decent burial, to have a place to grieve and, in some measure at least, to have closure. The Government remains committed to that aim and I call on all others to help bring it about.