I firmly believe there will be a public inquiry into the murder of Mr. Pat Finucane. This is because of the tenacity of the Finucane family and because the Pandora's box has been opened and the British State admits there was collusion in his murder. I find there is great generosity in the British media on this question. I also believe the Government is committed to pursuing the matter until there is a public inquiry. I do not believe it will be possible for the British Administration to continue to act as an honest broker internationally, pointing out the importance of the state in issues of human rights and fair play, because its credibility internationally will also suffer.

This morning I listened to a radio programme in which a British journalist pointed out that it was not just Mr. Pat Finucane, but other Nationalist solicitors were also mentioned as possible targets. Death threats were made against them and they were not notified of that. From a number of contributions we have had from British journalists, it is also obvious that the names of the agents that are known publicly are at the lower end of the scale. There are bigger names up the political line who were also involved in this. It beggars belief that all of this was happening whether through the British intelligence service or its agents on the ground without people at a very high political level being aware of that. It just could not happen. That is one of the reasons the British Prime Minister, Mr. David Cameron, does not want witnesses brought before a public inquiry where they could be interrogated.

I understand how the Finucane family feels today. Of course, every other family would feel the same. However, we are dealing with one issue and it represents the tip of the iceberg. Considering the terrible times we had in Northern Ireland, it now transpires that a major part of what was happening at that time could be laid at the doorstep of the British State, which is frightening. We have raised the question of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings and the same situation applies - we requested co-operation from Britain, but were refused. Is it acceptable that innocent people should be selected for murder with collusion by a state, in which we are to have confidence and with which we are to have co-operation? It is in the interests not only of human rights, the Finucane family and the future of this island, but it is also in the interest of the British Government to do the right thing and do it now. I support the Government statements made in the Dáil yesterday because I believe the Government feels as we do on this issue. It helped to underpin the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process. It expects more from the British Government - we might even say our partners in Britain - and we should get that quickly. I hope we will all support the Government in that regard.

I agree with the call for a public inquiry into this murder. As a member of the legal profession, I know that one of the roles in acting is to ensure that while the role of the people employed by the state, whether it is the police or the army, is to uphold the law from the point of view of the state, the role of the solicitor is to ensure that the state, itself, is upholding the law in the way it deals with prosecutions and in the way it deals with the arrest and charging of people for an alleged crime. The reality is that someone signed a death warrant for Mr. Pat Finucane. As a member of the legal profession, I find it appalling that this happened to someone who was acting in upholding that the state complied with all the legislation relating to prosecutions and making sure the courts acted in a proper manner in dealing with those prosecutions. It is outrageous that this occurred and that we do not have an open and public inquiry on the matter. I fully support the Government's demands. It should continue to demand that inquiry until it is held in a proper manner.

We are about to take up the Presidency of the European Union. Since I became a Member of this House I have frequently mentioned our role in the European Union. The Leader has indicated that there will be certain changes over the coming six months because of our Presidency. The European Commission has just published its programme for 2013. I suggest we pick a number of items from that programme and have a debate on at least five or six of them so that we know what is planned for the next few years. I ask that the Leader bring forward that as part of the programme for us in this House in 2013.

I support the Taoiseach in his call for a full public and independent inquiry into the death of the solicitor, Mr. Pat Finucane. It seems as though the British Government is going around it every way and any way other than facing up to the truth. I am shocked by a statement in the de Silva report that he found there was no over-arching British state conspiracy to murder Mr. Finucane but that a series of positive actions by employees of the state "actively furthered and facilitated his murder" and that in the aftermath of the murder there was a relentless attempt to defeat the ends of justice. It is little wonder that the family are calling it a sham.

Last week in DCU I listened to the US Secretary of State, Mrs. Hillary Clinton, who is about to finish her term. She spoke about the role of her husband, former US President Clinton, in the North of Ireland and her own interest in it. She has since spoken about her interest in that area and her willingness to get involved. I was thinking of the impasse we are at in this inquiry. It would be quite useful to consider enlisting the support of Mrs. Clinton as a peace broker in this matter. I call on the Taoiseach to talk to the British Prime Minister, Mr. Cameron, about enlisting the support of Mrs. Clinton to see whether we can move this on to a solution that is needed after 23 years.