Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 24 Mar 1992

Vol. 417 No. 5

Written Answers. - British Army Use of Lethal Force.

Tony Gregory

Ceist:

297 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if, having regard to his reply to Parliamentary Question No. 47 on 26 February 1992, and in view of the number of times that the issue of the excessive use of lethal force by the British army has been raised at Anglo-Irish-Intergovernmental Conferences, and given that this continued to be a serious problem, he will outline the further steps, if any, he will consider in this regard.

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Andrews)

The Government have on several occasions made clear their concerns regarding the use of lethal force by the Northern Ireland security forces. The matter has been raised at several meetings of the Anglo-Irish Conference. In particular, attention has been drawn to specific incidents in which individuals have been killed by the Northern Ireland security forces in circumstances which had given rise to controversy or public concern. As the Deputy is aware, there are prosecutions pending against members of the British Army in a number of recent cases and in a number of others the police investigations are proceeding. The Deputy will appreciate that it would not be appropriate for me to comment further on those cases at this point.

With regard to the more general questions involved, the Government have called for a thorough examination of the whole area of the use of lethal force by the security forces in Northern Ireland, including the investigative process in such cases and the adequacy of the existing law to meet the clear needs of the situation. The British authorities have indicated that they are willing to consider the possibility of a change in the law and that the subject is receiving close scrutiny.

I can assure the Deputy that we will continue to seek progress on this very important issue which goes to the heart of public confidence in the law and the security forces in Northern Ireland.