I read this morning in The Irish Times of Michael Hayes's "courageous apology" for the IRA bombings in Birmingham in 1976. How hollow that reads. How is that courageous? This man allowed six men to languish in jail for 16 years-----

Hear, hear.

Hear, hear.

-----and kept his mouth shut. He had, no doubt, colleagues who assisted him. This was an attack on a pub where people were enjoying a social evening. Many things happened during the Troubles but this was one of the most disgusting of all. What is even more disgusting, however, is that this hollow apology is now being seen as a somehow courageous act. What is courageous about it? Can he give the Birmingham Six back the 16 years he stole from them? Can he take back the hugely degrading treatment they suffered in prison? No, he cannot. This is disgusting. A man of courage would have gone over to England, handed himself in and told the authorities to let those six innocent men out because he was responsible for what happened.

Hear, hear.

When I saw the bonfires being prepared last night - every year these massive goddamn bonfires - I was able to understand why there was conflict in the North of Ireland and why it degenerated into what it did. What I cannot understand, however, is a coward like this, who comes out now when it is safe claiming that he is sorry and apologising to the relatives of the Birmingham victims. He did not apologise to the six men who spent 16 years of their lives in jail. I am sure that those men carry psychological damage today that nothing will ever repair. I want it put on the record that I detest the claim made in the article. Perhaps we could invite the Minister for Justice and Equality in for a short debate on this matter at some stage.