Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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479. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has raised with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and the British Foreign Secretary the need for the British Government to respond positively to the unanimous requests from Dáil Éireann to provide access to papers dealing with the Dublin-Monaghan bombing of 1974; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37646/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Dealing with outstanding issues relating to the legacy of the conflict in Northern Ireland are of the utmost importance to me as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and for the Government. The Programme for a Partnership Government highlights this priority, with specific reference to implementation of the All-Party Dáil motions relating to the Dublin Monaghan bombings.

The 17 May marked the 43rd anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, which saw the biggest loss of life in a single day during the Troubles. My predecessor Minister Flanagan participated on behalf of the Government in the commemoration ceremony that day and in addressing the commemoration ceremony, he reaffirmed the Government’s determination to continue – and to complete – our efforts to seek the truth of those awful events of 17 May 1974.

The All-Party motion on the 1974 Dublin Monaghan bombings that was adopted by the Dáil on 25 May 2016 has, like those adopted in 2008 and 2011, been conveyed to the British Government. These motions call on the British Government to allow access by an independent, international judicial figure to all original documents relating to the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, as well as the Dublin bombings of 1972 and 1973, the bombing of Kay’s Tavern in Dundalk and the murder of Seamus Ludlow.

The Government is committed to actively pursuing the implementation of these all-Party Dáil motions, and has consistently raised the issue with the British Government.

I have raised the matter with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and advised him that the Dáil motions represent the consensus political view in Ireland that an independent, international judicial review of all the relevant documents is required to establish the full facts of the Dublin Monaghan atrocities. I have also underlined to the Secretary of State that the absence of a response from the British Government is of deep concern to the Government and indeed this House, and emphasised the urgent need for a response from the British Government.

The Government will continue to pursue this matter with the British Government, urging them to provide a satisfactory response to the motions that have been adopted by Dáil Éireann. I will remain actively engaged on an ongoing basis on this matter, as will my officials.