Written answers

Thursday, 16 November 2017

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Dublin-Monaghan Bombings

Photo of Niamh SmythNiamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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34. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the status of the ongoing outstanding requests with the British Government regarding inquiries into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48309/17]

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I acknowledge at the outset those across the House who work on a cross-party basis with the Government on this issue and the tireless efforts of Justice for the Forgotten. Dealing with long-outstanding issues relating to the legacy of the conflict in Northern Ireland are of the utmost importance to 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 17th of 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 colleague Minister Flanagan, then Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, 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 spoken directly with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, James Brokenshire, about this matter and am actively engaged with the British Government on an ongoing basis on this issue, as are officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

As part of this engagement, the Government underlines 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 advised 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 I have emphasised the urgent need for a response from the British Government.

The Government will continue to engage with the British Government on the request in relation to the Dublin-Monaghan bombings, and pursue all possible avenues that could achieve progress on this issue, consistent with the request made by this House.

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