This day 15 years ago Donegal county councillor, Eddie Fullerton, a member of Sinn Féin, was shot dead in his home in Buncrana. Yesterday, Ken Barrett, the only person convicted of the murder of Pat Finucane, was released after three years' imprisonment and whisked away by the British Ministry of Defence to a secret location outside Ireland. Last Sunday marked the 12th anniversary of the shooting dead of Martin Doherty as he courageously prevented the bombing of the Widow Scallan's pub in nearby Pearse Street. Last week marked the 32nd anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 1974 when 33 people were killed.

Does the Taoiseach accept that, in all these cases, it is widely accepted that the perpetrators were acting as agents of the British armed forces in the Six Counties? Does he recall that, in March of this year, this House unanimously passed a resolution calling on the British Government of Tony Blair to establish a full independent public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane and that, before the debate even commenced, the Northern Ireland Office, so-called, issued a statement describing the resolution and the debate as flawed and misleading?

What sanctions does the Taoiseach intend to apply to the British Government for its dogged refusal to establish a full independent public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finuncane, recognising that it has rejected the unanimous resolution of this House and that the British Prime Minister has clearly rejected the Taoiseach's repeated calls for such an inquiry? Will the Taoiseach seek a special summit between himself and the British Prime Minister focusing solely on the issue of collusion and not as an item on a wider agenda, thereby helping to bring full international attention on this important issue?

What steps is the Taoiseach prepared to take in this jurisdiction to establish truth and justice about collusion? Will he establish a full public inquiry into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings as called for by Justice for the Forgotten? Will he establish a full public inquiry into the case of Eddie Fullerton as called for by his family, including by his late son Albert Fullerton?

All these cases were part of, or were associated with, the Troubles and they are all sad. In the time available, I will not be able to go through each one. In regard to the central point about the Finucane case, Mr. Barrett was released yesterday after serving less than four years, under the terms of the early release scheme under the 1998 Agreement for all prisoners who had been involved in various atrocities in Northern Ireland. An independent board considers these cases and decides who is to be released, as in this case. It is hard for Geraldine Finucane and her family to accept this, as it is for all the affected families to see people released under this scheme. The board acted consistently. It is independent and it is a matter for the board to decide on these cases.

We agreed after discussion in Weston Park some years ago that a series of cases representative of some of the terrible atrocities in Northern Ireland between the late 1960s and the late 1990s would be examined by a tribunal mechanism. It took some time to find an international judge but Mr. Justice Peter Cory of the Canadian Supreme Court accepted the task, and reported. He deemed that we would have to inquire into certain cases in our jurisdiction and we have moved on those under the terms he set out. He also identified cases with which the British Government should deal.

The British Government has set up a different type of inquiry from that we propose. We have protested continuously about that. I have referred to it in the United States whose President I asked to raise it with the British Government. I have raised it in the European context. It is well known internationally, and legal and media friends of Geraldine Finucane have lobbied and placed advertisements in the international press presenting that case.

There is no doubt that the British Government is determined not to hold an examination that will bring members of MI5 and MI6, and of the security machinery into the public light. The government has made its position clear and that is not likely to change. This is not a question of sanctions. We continue to disagree and have stated that we will not co-operate with the British Government on this, as Geraldine Finucane will not. We continue to support her as this and all Irish Governments have done since the late 1980s. We continue to press for the full inquiry. We asked for an independent inquiry such as we held in the Buchanan and other cases. As long as the British Government rejects that we will have a difference with it.

Mr. Patrick MacEntee SC is examining the issues considered by the sub-committee of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights, in respect of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings and the question of collusion. The British Government is supporting him in his questions and investigations proceeding from the work undertaken by Mr. Justice Liam Hamilton and by Mr. Justice Barron. That work continues.

Will the Taoiseach join me in acknowledging that the Finucane family has not objected to the release of Mr. Barrett under the Good Friday Agreement but rather has stated that he was a British agent who was protected at every stage? Clearly, a deal was done and a guilty plea entered into, which prevented the full truth from emerging. It was an exercise in ensuring that the role of the British forces in the murder of Pat Finucane remained behind a dark screen.

The same happened with the other British agent, Brian Nelson, who was also involved in the murder of Pat Finucane. British collusion is ongoing. Does the Taoiseach not recognise that the British continue to protect their agents and there is a bounden responsibility on him not simply to accept that there is a difference between himself and the British Prime Minister, but to take up the gauntlet in the interests of the Finucane family and of truth and justice? Will he not seek a summit with the Prime Minister that focuses on the issue of collusion such as we have proposed time and again? It is not enough to let Tony Blair off the hook. He must be forced, in the full glare of the international media, to face this issue directly with the Taoiseach.

We are confident the Taoiseach will put the case but we ask that he seize the moment and put the British Prime Minister in the dock on this issue to prise from him an agreement to set up the full independent public inquiry for which the Finucane family has called, and which it deserves. Will the Taoiseach internationalise this call and bring it before the European Union and the United Nations? There are steps he can take.

Will he press ahead with the plan and proposals in respect of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings as presented by Justice for the Forgotten? On this day, 15 years after Eddie Fullerton's cruel murder, I ask the Taoiseach to heed the appeal of the Fullerton family to establish a full public inquiry into the murder of an elected representative.

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has been in correspondence regarding the late Eddie Fullerton, a councillor in Donegal, whom I knew.

It is correct to say Geraldine Finucane and the family accept the release of prisoners, as does every other family. We support the Finucane family's call for a full inquiry. The family does not lack international or Government support. Likewise, it has the support of this House, as was shown in March, and that of people, at the highest level who take an interest in Irish affairs in Canada, Australia and America. The British Government has not acceded to the form of inquiry that we sought. We will continue our effort, and the work of Mr. MacEntee SC will continue on the issue of collusion and the other issues arising from the reports of this House on the Dublin-Monaghan bombings.

Deputy Ó Caoláin states the obvious in respect of the difficulties surrounding agents and collusion. It is clear, without going on at length about it, that we have seen agents on all sides, including the loyalist side. We debated the role of agents and all the other issues here recently and Denis Donaldson was unfortunately murdered for his role. There is no doubt that agents working for anyone and everyone were all over the place during the Troubles. People are reluctant to give all the information on these issues and that is probably behind the British Government's refusal to inquire into them. We will, however, continue to press for information and see how far we can get.

What about the summit?

We will continue to work on this. I assure the House that we will maintain our consistent efforts to highlight, and fight for, the case of the Finucane family, ably led by Geraldine Finucane and her sons.