Alan Shatter T.D
Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence
Thursday 17 May 2012
Topical Issue Debate 3
The continuing need for an independent international inquiry into the
Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 17 May 1974.
I thank Deputy Ó Caoláin for raising this issue in the House today, on the
anniversary of the savage and barbaric bombings in Dublin and Monaghan and
the tragic loss of life and injuries that resulted.
Thirty-eight years ago three bombs exploded around Dublin, including not
far from where we are now, in the busy evening rush hour and then, about 90
minutes later, another bomb exploded outside Greacen’s Pub in Monaghan
Town.
Thirty-three people were killed and over a hundred people suffered injuries
in these four bombs. The families of those killed and injured have borne
the grief of those tragic events and although the passage of time may have
eased their pain to some small degree, their suffering has not gone away
and the memory of their loved ones lives on with them.
As this House is aware, the late Judge Henry Barron carried out a detailed
and painstaking inquiry into those awful events of May 1974 and, indeed,
other tragic atrocities that took place between 1972 and 1976 in which many
other innocent people lost their lives.
The Barron Report provided some of the answers that the families concerned
had sought about the bombings and the subsequent hearings of the Oireachtas
Joint Committee provided the families with a very important opportunity to
have their voices heard and to tell their stories.
All of those families still have unanswered questions about what happened
to their loved ones, about why it happened and how it happened.
This House and Seanad Éireann have previously and 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 with our
Westminster counterparts and that they will continue to do so.
For its part, since this Government took office, the Taoiseach has raised
the issue with Prime Minister David Cameron and the Tánaiste has also
raised the matter with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Dealing with the legacy of the past is not an easy task. There is no
simple formula of words or actions that can put things right. The
Government is strongly committed to working in partnership with the British
Government and with our colleagues in the Northern Ireland Executive to
find ways to address the legacy of the conflict in Northern Ireland.
There is no ready resolution to the complexity of addressing the past. It
is, however, a challenge that the two Governments and the Executive are
determined and willing to undertake. That said it is also a challenge that
all who were party to the conflict must also be willing to take up.
As we progress to a better future for all who share this island and those
who live on the neighbouring island, we must not forget those who died,
those who were injured and those who mourn them. The Good Friday Agreement
recognised the special position of victims and in remembering the victims
and their families, we should be strengthened in our determination to
construct a changed society in the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement.
As previously, this House is unanimous in its message to our British
counterparts. I hope we can also send a message of solidarity to the
families of those who were so tragically killed in Dublin and Monaghan and,
indeed, to the families of all those who lost their lives in the conflict.