andRuairí Brugha asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has communicated with the British Government on the reported continuing use of illegal methods of interrogation in Northern Ireland; and the response, if any, he has received from the British Government.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Interrogation Methods.
19.
The Minister has not communicated with the British Government on the reports of continued use of illegal methods of interrogation in Northern Ireland and he has not, therefore, received any response from them on this question.
Why has the Minister not put an inquiry to the British Government?
The Department are aware of these allegations. They very actively investigate allegations, even when they are not made to the Department, but when they come across them published in any way. Some of these allegations are the subject of legal action which the persons affected are now bringing against the persons alleged to have ill-treated them. Some of them are not regarded by the Department as substantiated. In one case the Department were specifically asked not to pursue the matter. In general the Department keep a very close eye on these allegations. The Deputy can be assured that if it appears appropriate to raise these matters they will be raised.
I can appreciate it if the Parliamentary Secretary is suggesting that possibly this case may be sub judice in the sense that inquiries might be made into it by the British. The answer the Parliamentary Secretary has given does not seem to justify not putting an inquiry to the British Government in a case which has got the extraordinary amount of publicity this case has already got.
I am not trying to shelter behind the sub judice rule but I am not saying that the cases which we have refrained from commenting on to the British are before the courts or are going to come before the courts. We have not, in any case, been directly approached by any of the persons alleged to have been ill treated in police custody in the North, the area to which the question appears to refer. If we were directly asked to intervene different considerations might arise but we have not been directly asked to intervene. Even though we have not been asked we do keep a close eye on them. Of all the cases we have seen not all are regarded by the Department as substantiated or perhaps even as capable of being substantiated.
Does the Parliamentary Secretary mean that that is because nobody on this side of the House has asked about it?
No.
Does he mean that no intervention has been made because it was not asked for from here?
We have not been approached as a Department or as a Government by any of the persons alleging that they have been ill-treated. Our protection has not been invoked by any of them.
In view of the public commitment given by the British Attorney General at the Strasbourg hearings that the ill-treatment and techniques which are complained of in these reports would not be continued, does the Parliamentary Secretary not think that it was incumbent on the Government themselves to communicate, as our question asks, with the British Government to ensure that the undertaking which was offered was now being acted upon?
The Deputy will admit that whatever we are accused of we cannot be accused of lack of diligence in pursuing the matter of police interrogation in the North of Ireland to the point of severe embarrassment to others. I agree that if the allegations now being made were substantiated and if it was shown that the interrogation methods which the British Attorney General promised would no longer be used were still being used, it would be highly relevant. We are not satisfied that that is the case.
The Parliamentary Secretary said that they are not satisfied. He does not seem to have given any indication as to how that satisfaction was reached because no inquiries seem to have been made.
That is not so.
Did the Department conduct their own investigations? They have had no communication with the British Government?
The practice of the Department is to follow up every allegation. I have a number of names and dates here in front of me. The practice is to follow these up and if possible to contact the solicitor if there is a solicitor acting for any of the persons concerned. The conclusion which the Department have reached at the moment is that some small number, I emphasise a small minority, of the recent cases may have substance in them and there is a small number in which the persons concerned are bringing legal action against the people who have been alleged to have ill-treated them.
We may be talking about the small minority. I am talking about those cases which were the subject of a BBC report and which have been referred to by Dr. Daly. I do not know if the Parliamentary Secretary is telling this House that the Government have conducted an inquiry into that. He has told the House that the Government have had no communication with the British Government.
That is so.
Would the Parliamentary Secretary tell me whether the Government have themselves conducted an inquiry into those allegations which they are satisfied are without foundation?
I do not know enough about it to give the Deputy that undertaking. Every allegation which comes to the Department's notice is individually investigated by the Department.
Question No. 20.
Could we have a straight answer to a straight question?
I have allowed a series of questions on this. We are going on to another question.
That is too vague and general. Have the Government made any specific inquiry in relation to the cases I am mentioning which the Parliamentary Secretary would be well aware of, which were the subject of the statement by the Bishop of Derry for instance?
We have had all that before.
Have the Government conducted a specific inquiry into that and, if so, what has been the outcome of it?
If these cases are among the list, as I presume they must be because the Bishop produced a statement in the most conspicuous way, then they have been individually inquired into. I have not got——
Does the name O'Connor appear in the file?
Yes.
Order. I do not think names should be mentioned.
Is the Parliamentary Secretary satisfied they are without foundation?
I am not.
(Interruptions.)
Order. Question No. 20, please.