I commend the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter, on visiting the Midlands Prison, Portlaoise, on Friday last to attend a long overdue and fitting memorial service for Mr. Brian Stack, at which a bust of the late chief prison officer of Portlaoise Prison was unveiled. Mr. Stack, a serving prison officer, was murdered 30 years ago outside the National Stadium on the South Circular Road. He was gunned down because he showed great diligence and commitment in the conduct of his duty and in protecting the institutions of the State. Private Paddy Kelly, a soldier from Moate, lost his life in 1986 in similar circumstances when he was shot in Derrada Wood as he tried to rescue Don Tidey. I remember with some horror - I was a young teenager at the time - the death of Garda Michael Clerkin from County Monaghan who was lured to his death at a house in Portarlington, County Laois, which was blown up by an indiscriminate booby-trapped bomb.

Does the Senator have a question for the Leader?

Yes. It is fitting that the Minister visited Portlaoise to record and acknowledge an event that took place 30 years ago. Today, the Dáil will pass the Defence Forces (Second World War Amnesty and Immunity) Bill, which will pay tribute to and finally honour the Irishmen who left the Irish Army during the Second World War to fight against the forces of fascism in Europe. The record should be set straight in this matter. Tomorrow, the President will be joined by the Taoiseach in Arbour Hill to recognise those who died fighting for Irish freedom in the 1916 Rising. I ask the Leader to arrange for the Minister for Justice and Equality to come to the House to discuss the possibility of devising a formula to recognise and acknowledge the service of the prison officers, gardaí and members of the Defence Forces who made the ultimate sacrifice in the 1970s and 1980s.

The Senator is way over time.

This is an important point.

Yes, but the Senator is over time.

As I do not usually go over time, perhaps the Cathaoirleach will bear with me. The State should find a mechanism to recognise the role played by gardaí, prison officers and soldiers at a time when the law and institutions of the State, including the Oireachtas, were being subverted and placed under severe threat by subversive elements. This is the least we can do.