Loughinisland collusion legacy
Deputy Kenny raised the RTÉ documentary on the Loughinisland killings and alleged state collusion, stressing the families' pursuit of truth and justice. The Tánaiste said the families deserved truth, backed legacy structures under the Stormont House Agreement, and said he kept pressing the British Government.
Last night, RTÉ showed the documentary "No Stone Unturned", an excellent documentary that exposes the depth of collusion between the Ulster Volunteer Force, UVF, killers of six men in a bar in Loughinisland, and the Royal Ulster Constabulary, RUC, and British intelligence agencies. The Loughinisland Justice Group has campaigned for many years for truth and justice for their loved ones and against state collusion. It won a recent case in the High Court of Justice in Belfast, where the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland had to apologise for failing to investigate these killings. Like all families who are bereaved in the conflict, they are entitled to access to truth about the deaths of their loved ones. There have been numerous agreements, from the Good Friday Agreement up to the more recent Stormont House Agreement, on having legacy mechanisms put in place, but the British Government continues to block these legacy mechanisms. While the Assembly is not working, and Deputies may throw that at Sinn Féin, those agreements and their legacy mechanisms can be implemented regardless of whether the Assembly is up and running. These families need to get access to truth and the British Government is standing in the way of that. Will the Tánaiste use his influence to ensure they get access to that truth?
Comment on this
These families deserve the truth. This was an appalling attack and I am sure many of the families still carry the scars of that. That is why we need to have legacy structures up and running, consistent with what was agreed in the Stormont House Agreement. I continue to prioritise this issue in my conversations with the British Government and I continue to raise it with the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. There are many families from different backgrounds who deserve truth and justice, if that is possible, through the legacy structures that have been agreed. We need to get on and do that but to do so legislation needs to be passed in Westminster. That is controversial because in many ways the British Parliament is finding it difficult to pass any legislation as the British Government does not have a majority. We will continue to strongly advocate for the progression of the legacy structures, consistent with what was agreed in the Stormont House Agreement.