15 November 2001 Edition

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Dublin/Monaghan relatives' demand cooperation from British

Cavan/Monaghan Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin TD has backed the call from Justice for the Forgotten, the campaign representing the bereaved relatives and survivors of the May 1974 Dublin/Monaghan bombings, for the British government to co-operate fully with the inquiry being conducted by Justice Barron.

Justice for the Forgotten pointed out that the British were notified in January 2000 that their co-operation would be sought with the inquiry which was established by the Irish government. Yet to this day not one document has been forthcoming from the British.

Ó Caoláin attended the launch in Dublin on 9 November of a campaign which Justice for the Forgotten says is aimed at 'Britain's Zero Response to Ireland's Inquiry'. "It is a scandal that no information whatsoever has been forthcoming from the British since the first request in January 2000. What have they got to hide?" asked Ó Caoláin.

In the Dáil on Tuesday 13 November, the Sinn Féin TD questioned the Taoiseach on the issue, citing also the 1975 killing in County Monaghan of John Francis Green and the Castleblayney bombing of 1976. The exchange was as follows:


Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: Given the ever-widening cooperation between the Irish and British governments, does the Taoiseach accept that for many interested observers it is unacceptable that the government has no knowledge of the exact reason for the refusal of the British authorities to cooperate with this inquiry?

Does the Taoiseach share the view of many people that it is likely that key players in these very sad and tragic events are now very senior members of the British military establishment? On a related issue, does the Taoiseach acknowledge that there has been continuing disappointment that other similar and related events, involving British collusion in that period, were not included in the remit of the Barron inquiry? I refer specifically to the bombing in Castleblayney, County Monaghan, in March 1976 and the Dublin bombings of 1972 and 1973.

Taking on board the very welcome recommendations of the former Tánaiste, Mr John Wilson, in his report of the Victims' Commission, in which he recommended access to all reports and investigations of such tragedies related to the conflict in the North of Ireland over the past 30 years, when will we see action, which is long overdue, on this and other recommendations in Mr. Wilson's report? When will procedures be put in place so that light can be shed on all these events, including the murder, in my county, of the late John Francis Green in 1975? I believe that if all the facts of that case were made public, it would show a link to shadowy figures associated with all the other events we are currently discussing.


The Taoiseach: On the first issue, while there have been delays, Dr. Reid has not refused but has said he will deal sympathetically with the requests. I accept it is not unreasonable for people to express concern that, as of November, there has been no further development following that undertaking which was given last March, but I hope the matter will be dealt with. With regard to the bombings in Dublin, Castleblayney and some other individual cases, the Government has no difficulty in terms of the inquiry looking at some of those matters. In some cases, other than those mentioned by the Deputy, the families concerned, for their own legal reasons, do not want the matter dealt with in that way and continue to seek an inquiry. In the cases to which the Deputy referred, there is no difficulty in having the papers looked at but we would prefer to complete the present process first.

With regard to the role of the former Tánaiste, Mr John Wilson, his preliminary report has been published and is available in this House. Further work is being done on some aspects of that, including his recommendation that some matters be considered from a judicial point of view. Action has been taken, or will be taken, on some of his other recommendations.


Ó Caoláin: With regard to the Taoiseach's reassurance that the recommendations in Mr. Wilson's report will be dealt with, will he indicate whether the recommendations will be acted upon within the lifetime of the Government?


The Taoiseach: Yes, that is the intention, if possible.


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