I propose to take Questions Nos. 48 and 49 together.
Over 3,500 people died during the Troubles. The suffering of their relatives and friends endures to this day. There is no hierarchy of loss or grief for these families.
However, both Governments accepted at Weston Park that certain cases from the past remained a source of grave public concern, particularly those giving rise to serious allegations of collusion by the security forces in each of our jurisdictions. Both Governments therefore committed to undertake a thorough investigation of allegations of collusion in the cases of the murders of Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Bob Buchanan, Pat Finucane, Lord Justice and Lady Gibson, Robert Hamill, Rosemary Nelson and Billy Wright. In line with Judge Cory’s subsequent recommendations, a Tribunal of Inquiry into the murders of Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Bob Buchanan was established by the Houses of the Oireachtas in 2005.
With the publication of the Smithwick Report last December, the Government has fulfilled the commitments we entered into at Weston Park, specifically in this jurisdiction to carry out an inquiry into the murders of Chief Superintendent Breen and Superintendent Buchanan. In line with this approach, we continue to call on the British Government for an independent public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane. This is an approach which has cross-party support in the Houses of the Oireachtas.
The past is having a corrosive effect on political life and on community relations in Northern Ireland. The proposals arising from the All-Party talks under the chairmanship of Richard Haass presents an opportunity to build strong mechanisms to deal with the past. The Irish Government, along with the British Government, will play its role in partnership with the NI Parties to the full as they complete this work. It is in all our interests to see Northern Ireland make further progress towards reconciliation.
