I am sure the Taoiseach will agree that the courage and resilience shown by the family of Pat Finucane in their battle with the British state is inspirational. Pat Finucane was killed in February 1989 by a UDA death squad working in collusion with RUC special branch, the British Army's force reconnaissance unit and the British state. For three decades, like so many others, the family have fought a formidable campaign seeking a public inquiry into Pat's killing. Despite incontrovertible evidence that British state agents were directly involved in authorising and planning the killing, successive British Governments have blushed and stalled to prevent this.

An outcome of the Weston Park talks in 2001 was to appoint a judge to make recommendations on the need for public inquiries into a number of conflict-related deaths and, where required, that the relevant Government would implement the recommendation. Judge Peter Cory reported on 1 April 2004 and recommended a public inquiry into the killing of Patrick Finucane. That was more than 16 years ago. In 2012, the then British Prime Minister, David Cameron, acknowledged that there had been, as he put it, shocking levels of collusion in this killing. That was eight years ago. The British Supreme Court ruled in February last year that all previous investigations into the killing of Pat Finucane were incapable of establishing the full facts and failed to meet the standards of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Pat's widow, Geraldine, had to bring a judicial review against the British Secretary of State for his failure to act on this decision. On 11 October last, the barrister acting for the Secretary of State told the court a decision on an inquiry would be taken on or before 30 November. That is next Monday and the family are still waiting.

The EU Council of Ministers has expressed its deep concern that a decision still has not been taken by the British Government. That is a concern we all share. Only a public inquiry can assist the family to get the truth. The Finucane family have spoken truth to power for 30 years. They have not been and will not be silenced. Their questions deserve answers and their questions will not go away. The British Government has an obligation to ensure that the truth is told. I have written to the British Prime Minister urging that his Government fulfil Britain's international human rights obligations and hold a public inquiry.

I also wrote to the Taoiseach last week and I asked him to engage with Mr. Johnson at this critical juncture. I know the Taoiseach met with the Finucane family yesterday. I know they have thanked him for his support and, in particular, they thanked him for his commitment to engage with Boris Johnson ahead of the 30 November deadline. It is incredibly important that the demand for a public inquiry has the full weight of the office of An Taoiseach behind it. It is also important that there is a unified stance from the whole Oireachtas in support of the Finucane family. It is in that spirit that I ask the Taoiseach when he will make this urgent contact with Mr. Johnson. Will he make it absolutely clear to the British Prime Minister that a full public inquiry must happen as soon as possible because the Finucane family has already waited far too long?

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. I agree with the Deputy that there must be a full public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane - a husband, a father, a brother and a son. Such a public inquiry, as the Deputy said, was provided for in the agreement reached between the Irish and British Governments at Weston Park in 2001. The Oireachtas is of one mind on this. We have reaffirmed this view many times over the years and we will do so again this week with an agreed motion in Seanad Éireann.

This is an important week for the Finucane family. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis, has committed to taking a decision on whether to order a public inquiry before the end of November. As the Deputy said, this follows the judicial review of the UK Supreme Court decision in regard to the inadequacy of previous reviews into this murder. Our Government has reaffirmed our position on this issue to the Secretary of State through the Minister for Foreign Affairs. I will engage with the British Prime Minister on this issue and make very clear the consistent view of successive Irish Governments that there should, and must, be a full public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane. I also know the leaders of the SDLP, the Alliance Party and the Green Party, with Sinn Féin, have jointly communicated their support for a full public inquiry.

Yesterday, I sat down with Pat's wife, Geraldine, and her son, John, and I made it very clear to them that they would have the full weight of the Taoiseach's office behind their endeavour. For more than 30 years, Geraldine Finucane and her family have campaigned tirelessly to get to the truth of what happened to Pat. It has been a very long journey and they have conducted it with great dignity and determination. The Irish Government has walked with them on that journey and we will continue to do so until the commitments entered into at Weston Park are honoured. That is our commitment.

We note this battle is taking place also in Europe, where, in September, the Council of Europe’s committee of ministers expressed their deep concern that a decision has still not been made by the United Kingdom authorities on how to respond to the UK Supreme Court judgment of 2019.

That is the position right now. We will engage with the British Prime Minister. Given the extraordinary perseverance of the Finucane family, in my view, it is now more than timely for the British Government to respond appropriately in establishing a full public inquiry.

I thank the Taoiseach for that. From day one, as he knows, the British Government has resisted revealing the truth on the killing of Pat Finucane. In 2012, his wife, Geraldine, said:

At every turn, dead witnesses have been blamed and defunct agencies found wanting. Serving personnel and active state departments appear to have been excused. The dirt has been swept under the carpet without any serious attempt to lift the lid on what really happened to Pat and so many others.

I am sure that everyone in the Dáil hopes that the British Government will now stop resisting the truth and that Mr. Johnson will announce a full public inquiry because, as I have said and as the Taoiseach has so graciously reiterated, the Finucane family should not have to suffer any longer. They should not have to fight any longer. All the lies, bluffing and stalling have to end. Only the truth will give them peace. I ask the Taoiseach again to do everything he can to ensure they finally have that.

I certainly will. There is a very important aspect to this also. Where sovereign governments enter into agreements, they should be adhered to and followed through. The Irish Government at the time entered into its commitments and it established the Smithwick inquiry, irrespective of where it would land and without fear or favour. The same should apply to the UK Government. In the conduct of international affairs and relationships between two sovereign friendly nations a basic tenet of such relationships should be that if we enter into agreements, they should be honoured. As a former Minister for Foreign Affairs, I pursued this at the time and met with quite considerable resistance. If the Deputy recalls, at that time the Bloody Sunday inquiry was coming to a conclusion. That may have been a context for the wider British response. There may be other factors that we all know about that may be hindering the right decision being made but, suffice to say, I believe it is important that the British Government would adhere to commitments given solemnly in respect of an overarching agreement that has worked for the benefit of all the people on this island and enhanced the relationships between the people living on these islands. It is in that spirit that I ask the British Prime Minister and the British Government to do the right thing on this occasion and establish a full public inquiry.