Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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101. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will ensure that adequate resources are provided to the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims Remains to enable the greatest possible level of investigations to be carried out to try and recover the remains of the four persons who are referred to as the disappeared; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33658/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The families of the Disappeared, people who were killed and buried secretly by paramilitary organisations during the troubles, have had to face a very particular tragedy in not only having lost a loved one, but having been denied for so long information about the burial places of their loved ones. I acknowledge the Deputy's long-standing interest in this issue.

The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR) was established by the Irish and British Governments in 1999 as one among the actions to acknowledge and address the suffering of the victims of violence as a necessary element of reconciliation in the context of the Peace Process. The ICLVR's task is to facilitate the location of the remains of the Disappeared.

To date, 12 of the victims on the ICLVR’s list of the Disappeared have been located and the ICLVR is continuing its inquiries in relation to the remaining four cases – Joe Lynskey, Columba McVeigh, Robert Nairac and Seamus Ruddy – and I can assure the families of my and the Government's continued full support for this ongoing humanitarian work.

I can assure the Deputy and, indeed, the families of the Disappeared that the ICLVR’s investigation team has had and will continue to have the resources it needs to conduct its work. However, as the Deputy will know the ICLVR’s work is fundamentally driven by information. This is the key resource to support its efforts and anyone who has any information on any of the outstanding cases should bring it to the ICLVR without delay.

With the support of the two Governments, the ICLVR will continue its work tirelessly. Its only aim is to locate the victims’ remains in order that they may be returned to their families to receive a decent burial. In this way the families will then have a grave at which to grieve and to remember.