In March 1983, the chief prison officer of Portlaoise Prison, Brian Stack, was shot in the back of the neck. He was the only prison officer in the Republic to be murdered during the Troubles by the Provisional IRA. He died in September 1984 as a result of his injuries.

It took 30 years for the Provisional IRA to admit that it murdered him despite many denials by the IRA and Sinn Féin spokespeople during that period. Deputy Adams, as leader of Sinn Féin, brought the sons, Austin and Oliver Stack, to a particular location in the northern part of the country to have the IRA tell them, after years of denial, that it did indeed murder him. However, the IRA attempted to qualify its complicity and its act by saying in its statement at the time, which was handed to the sons, that:

In Portlaoise a brutal prison regime saw prisoners and their families suffer greatly. This is the context in which IRA volunteers shot your father.

In his authorised biography, Man of Kerry by J.J. Barrett, Deputy Ferris described the late Brian Stack as a "particularly vindictive individual". Those words and the IRA statement to which I refer give the impression of retrospectively trying to justify the cold-blooded murder because Brian Stack was nothing of the sort. He was a loyal, diligent and committed officer of this State. In my view, the situation has been compounded by a report in today's Irish Independent, which reveals that Deputy Adams passed on the names of four individuals, three of whom are allegedly prominent public representatives, to the Garda Commissioner last February and said that Austin Stack, the son of Brian Stack, gave him the names. Austin Stack has been on radio this morning and has publicly said that at no stage did he ever mention any names to Deputy Gerry Adams. It seems to me to be a very serious situation for the leader of a political party to pass on the names of suspects to a Garda Commissioner and we are all supposed to go away off into the night and do no more about it. This is an extraordinary situation. In the first instance, I ask the Taoiseach to meet Deputy Adams and put to him the need to co-operate fully with any investigation. The IRA knows who committed the murder and it should come clean on the matter to give final closure to the Stack family.

I also want to make the Taoiseach aware of correspondence that the wife of the late Brian Stack has sent to the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality about reopening the Remembrance Commission, which was established to assist and support victims of the Northern Ireland conflict in the Republic. Given that his murder was only admitted to by the IRA in 2013, there is a very strong case for the reopening of the commission in respect of the late Brian Stack. His family have been in correspondence for 18 months and have received nothing but acknowledgements. It seems that the State needs to move now and respond positively to that correspondence. I ask the Taoiseach to do so, given that Brian Stack was the only prison officer murdered in savage circumstances by the Provisional IRA back in 1983.

It seems to be an extraordinary development in respect of the contradictory statements that have been made here. It is correct to say that Brian Stack was murdered in cold blood outside a boxing stadium in south Dublin, which was admitted by the IRA in 2013. Austin Stack says he gave no names to Deputy Adams, the President of the Sinn Féin party. Deputy Adams is not here today and I am not sure whether he has advised his deputy leader on the truth of this situation. If names were furnished by Deputy Adams, including those of members who are serving public representatives, to the Garda Commissioner, that is a serious matter in itself. I am taking Deputy Martin's question but I do not have the detailed answer to the points being raised. It would be appropriate that if names were furnished to the Garda Commissioner by Deputy Adams, but which were not given to him by Austin Stack, the question is answered. The Garda Commissioner is either taking or will take action about that.

I expect that when I speak to the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality, she might make a statement on this based on the information or correspondence she has received and look at the question of the Remembrance Commission that Deputy Martin has mentioned.

The previous Minister for Justice and Equality, Mr. Shatter, met the Stack family. To be honest, if I interview Deputy Gerry Adams, he is not going to tell me the position as it applies but he might have to tell others. In that context I have no objection to meeting Austin Stack or members of his family to hear their side of this story.

Deputy Adams needs to clear up the contradiction that has arisen. If the Garda Commissioner has been furnished with names presented by the President of Sinn Féin that Austin Stack says he never gave to him, then that issue needs to be addressed. We will look at the question Deputy Martin raised in respect of the Remembrance Commission. The Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality will respond in so far as she can. I would be prepared to talk to Austin Stack and members of his family.

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. I put it to the Taoiseach that Deputy Adams often asks the Taoiseach to meet him and others who are victims of other atrocities. I have no difficulty with that. It is equally legitimate to seek a meeting when it comes to the only prison officer murdered in this State defending the State. Portlaoise Prison was a difficult assignment for any prison officer at that time. In fact, following his murder there was an outbreak or attempted escape from Portlaoise Prison a year or so later in 1985.

The point I am making is that this was an atrocity. It was denied for 30 years by Sinn Féin and the IRA. In 2013, eventually, those involved owned up and said to Austin Stack that they murdered his father. They did not do it in the way they should have done it, without any context or anything like that. There is no excuse for what they did. It was quite cold-blooded. The question is how Deputy Adams came into the possession of those names and how he could be confident or competent to send or pass those names to the Garda Commissioner as suspects in the case. What is Sinn Féin going to do about it?

Given that this involves a defender of the State, a person who worked on behalf of the State, I think it merits such a meeting. On the Remembrance Commission issue, I believe the Stack family are due acknowledgement of the loss of their husband and father. They are also due consideration by the Remembrance Commission, which could be opened up on a case-by-case basis. It was not possible to deal with this before now because it was only in 2013 that the murder was owned up to.

The position is that Deputy Gerry Adams, President of Sinn Féin, has presented names to the Garda Commissioner, as I understand it. He says he got the names from Austin Stack, son of Brian Stack, who was murdered. Austin Stack says he never gave him the names. Deputy Adams needs to explain that.

The IRA admitted the murder 30 years later. We have had questions in the House before about associations with membership of the IRA and about safe houses on this side of the Border which were, in some cases, allegedly used for sexual abuse. There was no follow through. This is a serious matter.

As I have said to Deputy Martin, I am prepared to talk to Mr. Stack and members of his family and to look at the question of the Remembrance Commission. The Sinn Féin party needs to address this. A man was murdered. The military wing associated with the party has admitted 30 years on that they murdered him. They will know who murdered him and who gave the orders to carry out that unwarranted execution. They know these things. There is a need for them to answer up.

I ask the Taoiseach to conclude.

The family deserves to know the truth. For my part, I will speak to the Minister for Justice and Equality to find out what information is at her disposal. Obviously, the Garda Commissioner has responsibility for the investigation of issues related to the Garda Commissioner.