Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 November 2013
146. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide an update on the collusion issue north of the Border where one third of the 120 killings occurred in the Republic; and if this aspect was ever raised with the British Government. [50779/13]
View answerThe atrocities perpetrated in Dublin, Monaghan, Dundalk and elsewhere in the 1970s, and incidents such as the massacre of the Miami Showband stand out in the memory as particularly bloody episodes in this island’s history. In recent weeks there have been further well-publicised allegations of collusion. The late Judge Henry Barron and Patrick McEntee SC carried out detailed and painstaking inquiries into bombings in Dublin and Monaghan in May 1974 and, indeed, other atrocities that took place between 1972 and 1976 in which so many people lost their lives. The Garda authorities co-operated fully with the Barron and McEntee inquiries. This House and Seanad Éireann have unanimously urged the British Government to allow access to documents relevant to these events. I know that many Deputies in this House have raised this issue directly with our counterparts at Westminster and that they will continue to do so. For its part, since this Government took office, the Taoiseach has raised the issue with the British Prime Minister and I have also raised the matter with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and during my recent visit to London.
