Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 2 Nov 1999

Vol. 509 No. 6

Written Answers. - Northern Ireland Issues.

Ivor Callely

Question:

55 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will request the British authorities to make public the Stalker-Sampson inquiry report into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the six individuals in 1982 in view of the current investigation of Ms Rosemary Nelson's murder; his views on whether the publication of the report and appropriate prosecutions would be a favourable signal by the British authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20881/99]

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Andrews)

The circumstances surrounding the deaths of the six individuals whose deaths in 1982 were the subject of the Stalker-Sampson inquiry have been a matter of deep concern to the Government. Six unarmed men were shot dead and one seriously injured by members of the RUC in three separate shooting incidents in Co. Armagh in the period November-December 1982. The circumstances surrounding the shootings led to allegations that the police were operating a shoot-to-kill policy. The decision not to prosecute anyone as a result of the Stalker-Sampson inquiry was the subject of a special Anglo-Irish conference in 1988, and the issue has been raised on many occasions through the framework of the Anglo-Irish intergovernmental conference.

The report of Mr. Stalker has never been made public, although the Government has repeatedly called for its publication. The Government considers that the investigation of such cases should be fully transparent and open. This equally applies in the case of Rosemary Nelson. The Government is remaining closely in contact with interested parties about the Nelson case and the conduct of the investigation into her heinous murder.