Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 25 Oct 1994

Vol. 446 No. 3

Written Answers. - Dublin and Monaghan Bombings.

Eamon Gilmore

Question:

44 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Justice if the Garda investigation into matters contained in the Yorkshire Television programme on the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings has yet been concluded; if so, the outcome of the investigation; if she has met or will meet representatives of relatives of the victims; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1950/94]

Jim Higgins

Question:

53 Mr. J. Higgins asked the Minister for Justice the action taken in respect of the alleged identification of a person (details supplied) allegedly associated with the placing of bombs in Dublin in 1974; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57/94]

Austin Currie

Question:

79 Mr. Currie asked the Minister for Justice when she intends to meet the families of the victims of the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings to give them an assessment of the report of the Garda inquiry prior to a public statement on the matter promised as a matter of urgency in April 1994; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1325/94]

Robert Molloy

Question:

95 Mr. Molloy asked the Minister for Justice if she has received recent representations from the Wicklow support group seeking a public inquiry into the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan Bombings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2018/94]

Gay Mitchell

Question:

153 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Justice if she is now in a position to make a statement concerning Garda investigations into the Yorkshire TV documentary on the Dublin and Monaghan bombings; and the steps, if any, she proposes to take in relation to investigating these bombings. [91/94]

Ivor Callely

Question:

157 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Justice the current progress following renewed investigations of the 1974 car bombs in Dublin and Monaghan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1987/94]

Minister for Justice (Mrs. Geoghegan-Quinn)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 44, 53, 79, 95, 153 and 157 together.

The Garda authorities have undertaken extensive investigations into the issues raised by the Yorkshire Television programme on the Dublin and Monaghan bomb outrages. As I have indicated previously to the House, my consideration of the initial Garda report of those investigations led me to ask for certain further inquiries to be made. Those inquiries have been completed and a further report was made available to me in June by the Garda authorities.

I appreciate that the relatives and the House have been waiting a considerable time for the outcome of those investigations. I want to assure both the relatives and the House that everything is being done to bring the matter to a conclusion as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the investigation is at this remove of its nature a complex affair. That and my concern to ensure that all avenues of investigation have been followed up has meant that the matter could not be brought to a speedier conclusion.

My examination of the Garda reports to which I have already referred as continuing. That examination will form the basis for the public statement which I have previously undertaken to make. My intention is that that statement will be as comprehensive as possible consistent with the fact that the Garda investigation files on these outrages remain open. The statement will also, for that reason, require the most careful preparation and I therefore intend to consult with both the Garda authorities and the Director of Public Prosecutions before finalising its terms.

It has always been my intention to meet again with the families of the victims of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings to advise them of the outcome of the investigations before issuing a public statement on the matter. That remains my intention.

It would not in all the circumstances be proper for me to say anything further on the subject at this stage beyond acknowledging, in response to Deputy Molloy's question, that I have received representations of the kind to which his question refers. My views on the issue of a public inquiry remain the same as those which I indicated to this House on 7 July 1993 in the course of the Adjournment Debate on this matter.