Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 27 Feb 1992

Vol. 416 No. 4

Written Answers. - Gibraltar Killings.

Tony Gregory

Ceist:

66 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if, in relation to the killing of three Irish people by British forces in Gibraltar, he will outline the Irish Government's position on three requests from their relatives that, (1) the killings be brought before the European Court of Human Rights, (2) a sworn statement held by the Spanish Authorities contradicting the British version of events be obtained and (3) a report on the inquest made to the Irish Government be made available to the relatives.

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Andrews)

In relation to the first part of the Deputy's question I have noted reports that the legal representatives for the families of the three individuals shot dead in Gibraltar in March 1988 have, under the procedures provided for this purpose, filed papers with the European Commission on Human Rights alleging that the actions by the British Government in this case were in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights. The question of referral of the case to the European Court of Human Rights is a matter for determination by the parties directly concerned in the light of the findings of the Commission on the matter.

In relation to the second point, the question of access to evidential material of the kind referred to is a matter to be pursued with the Spanish authorities by the lawyers concerned.

In relation to the third part of the Deputy's question, as has been stated previously in this House, it is not the practice of the Government to make publicly available confidential reports of this kind.