Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 13 Mar 1997

Vol. 476 No. 4

Written Answers. - Bloody Sunday Inquiry.

Liam Fitzgerald

Question:

33 Mr. L. Fitzgerald asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will call upon the British Prime Minister and the British Government to establish an international independent tribunal of inquiry to examine in detail the huge volume of additional evidence available in the publication of in excess of 700 statements (details supplied) gathered by the Civil Rights Association and the National Council for Civil Liberties in relation to Bloody Sunday which resulted in the massacre of 13 people; if he will request that the tribunal be given powers to examine all aspects of the previous Widgery Tribunal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7210/97]

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Spring)

The Government is currently assessing all the relevant material emerging about Bloody Sunday, including material referred to by the Deputy. I discussed this ongoing assessment with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Sir Patrick Mayhew, at yesterday's meeting of the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference.

It is the Government's intention to present our conclusions to the British Government when this assessment is complete. It is vitally important that the new material emerging, and its significance in regard to both the conduct and the outcome of the Widgery Tribunal, be considered in a thorough and comprehensive manner. As I stated in my reply to the Deputy on 6 February 1997, a full new inquiry may not be essential to set aside the discredited findings of the Widgery Tribunal. At the same time I emphasised that whatever is required to bring peace to the relatives and honour the memory of the dead of Bloody Sunday should be done. The Deputy will appreciate that I would not wish to prejudge whatever position the Government may ultimately adopt on the question of a new inquiry until the current assessment is complete.