Written answers

Wednesday, 18 June 2014

Department of Justice and Equality

Victim Support Services

Photo of Pádraig Mac LochlainnPádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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149. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will report on the implementation of the recommendation of Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality in its final report on the report of the independent commission of inquiry into the Dublin bombings of 1972 and 1973 that a Garda liaison officer be appointed to assist the victims and family members of the bombings. [26170/14]

Photo of Pádraig Mac LochlainnPádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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150. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality in line with the need to support victims and survivors of conflict, if consideration will be given to appoint a Garda liaison officer to work with all of those injured or bereaved due to political conflict. [26171/14]

Photo of Frances FitzgeraldFrances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 149 and 150 together.

The tragic human cost of the troubles on this island in terms of the lives lost, the people injured and the families bereaved, such as in the bombings in Dublin and Monaghan, is still felt to this very day. Our thoughts are with the victims of the many atrocities perpetrated over the course of the troubles and their families.

Arising from the report of the Barron Inquiry and the report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women’s Rights the Garda Commissioner appointed a dedicated liaison officer for the victims of the bombings in Dublin in 1972 and 1973 and in Dublin and Monaghan in 1974. This dedicated liaison service has been in place since then. It is currently provided by a Garda Superintendent based at the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation in Dublin.

It is the policy of the Garda Síochána to provide effective liaison with the victims of crime and their families. The Garda Síochána is strongly aware of the importance of victims in the criminal justice system and will continue to make efforts to ensure their needs are met, particularly in respect of making information available to them. The Garda authorities are conscious of the need to ensure that the liaison process is operated in order to best address the needs of the individual victims while at the same time ensuring that criminal investigations would not be in any way compromised.

In achieving this and in the interests of operational effectiveness, Garda liaison with the victims of serious crime and their families, such as those crimes related to the conflict in Northern Ireland, is provided directly to them from the Garda Division and investigation team which is investigating the case at hand. The Gardaí in the Division which is investigating a case are in possession of the detailed and up-to-date information with regard to it and are, therefore, best placed to interact with the victims and their families. Such interaction is done directly by or under the supervision of the relevant Garda Superintendent.

I am sure the Deputy will agree that we must always be conscious that the victims of crime are individuals with individual needs and that any approach must take into account the specific requirements of the individuals themselves.

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