Address by Mr David Stanton T.D.,
Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality
Missing Persons Day – 7th December, 2016
Farmleigh, Dublin
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am privileged to join the Deputy Commissioner and all of you present here
in Farmleigh today on what has appropriately become an annual
commemoration: Ireland’s national Missing Persons Day.
Today, we gather together to commemorate the members of your families who
have gone missing. We also commemorate all of Ireland’s missing persons,
because, of course, not every family who has lost a loved one is
represented here today.
I know our MC, Barry Cummins, has spoken about many people who have gone
missing at today’s ceremony. This is what Missing Persons Day is all about.
Commemoration. Remembering in a special and respectful way. After all, this
is how we would all wish to be remembered.
Today you commemorate your missing loved ones. It is not the day on which
your family member went missing. It is a day to remember your family member
as a person, and not merely as a missing person.
I would like to thank the families who have spoken about their missing
loved ones today. Thank you Diane, Sandra, Berna, Nuala and Seamus. It is
very upsetting to hear about your sister’s disappearance; your brother’s
disappearance; your son’s disappearance. It is upsetting to hear about how
you and your families were affected in the immediate aftermath of your
loved one’s disappearance. And it is upsetting to hear about the profound
and long-lasting effect of their loss on each of your lives in the years
that have followed. It takes great courage to share your family’s
experience and grief.
It is my sincere hope, each year at Missing Persons Day, that your powerful
stories will resonate with people who may have information; people who may
hear your family’s story in your own words in the vital media coverage that
follows today’s ceremony; people that decide now that they too must be
brave and come forward with the information they have. That is why it is my
wish that your stories will travel far beyond Farmleigh and today’s
ceremony.
I also want to acknowledge the importance of sharing your family’s story
for other families in similar circumstances. I know Nuala made a similar
point in her words when she spoke about the programme of family support
days that the National Missing Persons Helpline is running early next year.
The value of sharing your experiences with each other cannot be overstated:
it is hugely important for other families to know that they are not alone
in this most tragic journey that was not of their choosing.
I would like to thank Deputy Commissioner O'Cualáin for his opening words
and I commend An Garda Síochána for the pivotal role many members play in
the lives of the families and friends gathered here today and across the
country. I am often told that the greatest impact that An Garda Síochána
makes in most people’s lives is at a community level. And what we have here
is a community of families and friends, bound by their loss and love.
Communities must always be supported. And An Garda Síochána does just that.
So today, I pay tribute to the Gardaí involved in the investigation of
missing persons cases, the Missing Persons Bureau, the Family Liaison
Officers, and the Gardaí in the local Garda stations.
Missing Persons Day also offers the opportunity to highlight the other
support services which are available to families and friends.
Organisations such as the National Missing Persons Helpline, Searching for
the Missing and the WAVE Trauma Centre provide advisory and support
services when a loved one has disappeared, or has been located. To these
organisations, I say thank you. We commend your work and your dedication to
families and friends all over Ireland and beyond. I would also like to
thank these same organisations for their continued support for Missing
Persons Day and their input into the ceremony each year. We value your
partnership.
Missing Persons Day is a commemorative day for the whole of Ireland and I
would like to extend a warm welcome to those who have travelled from
Northern Ireland and to the members of the Independent Commission for the
Location of Victims Remains, who contributed here last year.
I also want to highlight the unfailing contribution made day in, day out by
our voluntary land and sea search and rescue organisations. I think the
entire nation was particularly struck by the bravery of Irish Coast Guard
volunteer, Caitriona Lucas, who gave her life in the line of duty in
September this year.
This time last year the Tánaiste spoke about the launch of our new
state-of-the-art DNA Database System to assist An Garda Siochána in finding
and identifying missing or unknown persons. The capability of this database
to link missing persons, or persons who are unable to identify themselves,
to their close family relatives is a truly positive milestone. As Dr.
Ramsbottom explained earlier, this database has the potential to bring some
element of closure for families searching for their loved ones, such as in
the case of the family of Pauline Finlay. I would like to thank Dr.
Ramsbottom, Dr. Williams and Dr. Sheila Willis, Director of Forensic
Science Ireland, together with An Garda Síochána, for facilitating the
collection of reference samples at today’s ceremony.
I mentioned community earlier. The sad fact is that few communities in
Ireland have been spared the sorrow and bewilderment that is felt when a
person goes missing. I need not remind you that embedded in Irish culture
is a strong sense of community. This can be seen in the numerous
connections in all our daily lives. All these connections pull tight in
times of need and through our actions we support each other. The ongoing
assistance provided by all community networks during difficult times – be
it local networks such as GAA, soccer clubs, the Irish Farmers Association
and Muintir na Tire - are examples of community in the very best sense of
the word.
As some of you may be aware, today’s ceremony grew from an idea, which has
its origins in a project by students of Davis College, Mallow, Co. Cork.
These students shared their idea with others, including with the Joint
Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, which I was Chair of
at the time and heard this important message. So it is a great privilege to
be here today to speak at this 4th Annual National Missing Persons Day.
Finally, I would like to thank our Master of Ceremonies, Barry Cummins, for
his significant contribution to Missing Persons Day, today and over the
past three years. As most of you are aware, Barry has a genuine interest in
raising public awareness of the cases of missing persons and has developed
a close relationship with many families of missing persons throughout the
country. I speak on behalf of the numerous families when I say that we are
lucky to have such a sincere and committed advocate. Thank you.
I wish you all a healthy and peaceful Christmas and New Year.