NI Assembly passes motion criticising Irish government’s approach to legacy issues

What is absolutely clear is that terrorists placed a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device in Omagh town centre and 29 innocent people were killed and over 200 were injured. They were not in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were in the right place at the right time, and they were murdered for no reason and with no excuse. The vehicle that delivered the IED to Omagh on that fateful day was stolen in the Irish Republic. The explosives were sourced in the Irish Republic. The timer power unit (TPU) was made in the Irish Republic. The IED was assembled and placed on board the car in the Irish Republic. The plan was made and rehearsed in the Irish Republic. The vehicle-borne IED left the Irish Republic, crossed into Northern Ireland and detonated, killing 29 people, before the bombers escaped back into the Irish Republic.

Yet, the Dublin Government do not feel the need to hold a public inquiry in parallel to the UK inquiry, or even a commission of investigation. They clearly do not take their commitment to victims seriously, and many victims do not trust their hollow words. They do not trust some weak memorandum of understanding on information-sharing. They have good reason not to trust them. The Dublin Government promised much to the Kingsmills families and delivered little, even though they said that they would bring in unprecedented legal measures to facilitate cooperation to deliver on their commitment. Compare that statement to the statement from the Irish Justice Minister just 10 days ago:

The reality is simple: the Irish Government criticise much but deliver little. Even when some were hell-bent on the Stormont House Agreement, the Irish Government never saw fit to have a parallel process. When the Conservative Government brought forward legacy legislation, even though it was disastrous and nobody is standing over it, the Irish Government brought forward nothing. They have not brought forward anything on legacy, and we are letting them away with that. We are not holding them to account while they hold our feet to the fire. I am not dismissing the sacrifice of the Defence Forces or the gardaí personnel who gave their lives fighting terrorism, but let us face the fact that the territory of the Irish Republic was used as a base to murder thousands of UK citizens.

The Irish Republic was used as a base to murder thousands of UK citizens, yet the Irish Government do not feel that it is right to set up their own legacy mechanisms. I do not get that. I do not know how anybody here can say that they should not set up legacy mechanisms. The reality, however, is that they have not and do not intend to. They intend to do what they have done to date, which is to have an MOU that says, “We will share information”, albeit we have already seen that they do not share the information when it is required.

I will finish with three things. The UK Government have failed miserably in dealing with the legacy of our past. They have failed to show a backbone in holding the Irish Government to account for their territory being used to murder so many of our citizens. The Irish Government have failed, at every level, to do anything for the victims or anything to address that state’s role in the Troubles. I think that they have sanitised themselves away from this such that they think that the Irish state did not have a role in the Troubles. Well, it did, and the Irish Government need to take responsibility for and ownership of that. They need to stop just being critical of everybody else and start looking inwards to themselves. Lastly, it is a reminder. The Omagh bomb victims deserve answers. They deserve the truth, as do the thousands of victims right across these islands, and the Irish Government must step up to help provide that information.

For the past 27 years, many of the victims’ families have suffered in silence as they continue to pursue a path to truth and justice. The announcement of the public inquiry, secured through the courts in 2021, brought a ray of hope to those families. In the past weeks, at the first stage of the inquiry, we have heard the harrowing testimonies of the victims’ families and those affected by the Omagh bomb. No one could have sat through or listened to those sessions without being visibly moved. The testimonials have brought the horrors of that day to a new generation.

While, as a party, we stand with the victims’ families as they fight for justice after the single-worst atrocity of the IRA’s campaign of terror and bloodshed, we equally stand with the families of all the innocent victims throughout Northern Ireland, who were brutally murdered by terrorist organisations, in their quest for truth and justice. While today’s motion laments the lack of any tangible effort by the Irish Government to conduct an inquiry into the atrocity, we believe that it does not go far enough, and that is why we tabled the amendment.

A memorandum of understanding between the Omagh Bombing inquiry and the Irish Government will be entirely deficient in providing answers for the victims and their families. Therefore, the amendment calls on the Irish Government to do the honourable thing, as recommended by Judge Horner in 2021, and similarly hold an inquiry with the powers to compel any person in the Republic of Ireland to provide evidence, information and material pertinent to a full and unfettered investigation on behalf of the victims and survivors.
We must not let the Irish Government off the hook on that issue. The fact remains that the Omagh bomb was planned, built and delivered from the South of Ireland. The proposer of the motion went into more detail on that issue. The Dublin Government cannot, therefore, wash their hands of those murders. The Justice Minister must ensure that she is not giving cover to that double standard. She must demonstrate practically her commitment to seeking parallel investigative mechanisms in the Irish Republic.

While the Taoiseach seeks to justify the Irish Government’s long-standing position against holding a public inquiry, by stating that Dublin will ensure that there is full cooperation with the inquiry in Northern Ireland, the fact remains that the UK inquiry has no authority to call witnesses from the Republic or to compel them to give evidence.

Whom does the Taoiseach think he is fooling with his fine words that Dublin will fully cooperate with the inquiry, without the proper powers being in place for one in the Republic? Let us weigh up the evidence, folks. We look at the Kingsmills inquest, to which the Irish Government’s submission amounted to little more than newspaper clippings. Assistant Chief Constable Harris, as he was then, stated under oath at the Smithwick tribunal that he was satisfied beyond doubt that there was a leak from the gardaí to the IRA that led to the murder of Ian Sproule in Castlederg, yet both the Dublin Government and the Garda Síochána Ombudsman blatantly refused to sanction an investigation of that murder. Does anyone in the House today believe that, without the appropriate mechanism in place in the Irish Republic to compel evidence gathering about the Omagh bomb, things will be different this time around? I challenge the Taoiseach and the Irish Government: will they provide the same cover for the perpetrators of the Omagh bomb as they provided for the perpetrators of Kingsmills and of all other such atrocities throughout Northern Ireland? The facts and the evidence speak for themselves.

We must listen to the voice of the victims, engage with them and not run away from our responsibility to help uncover the truth. The Republic of Ireland Government cannot therefore continue to ignore their overriding moral and legal duty to conduct an inquiry into what was the deadliest atrocity of the Troubles. It was orchestrated, planned and delivered from their jurisdiction. The victims and their families deserve truth, accountability and justice on both sides of the border. I commend my party leader and MP colleagues for raising with the Prime Minister the need for the Republic to step up to the plate by holding a public inquiry similar to the inquiry that the UK Government have initiated. No inquiry will bring the loved ones back. No inquiry will fill the empty chair at the dinner table. No inquiry will ease the trauma resulting from that dreaded knock on the door. Every decent and right-thinking person, however, should listen to the families and heed their call for an inquiry in the Republic of Ireland that has the power to compel people and papers in order to bring the families the truth and justice that they deserve.

In closing, I want to remember from that day the members of the security forces and the medical support who were left to deal with the aftermath of the bomb. They saw scenes and dealt with things that no one should have to deal with. Afterwards, having received no professional help to deal with their trauma and the effects on their mental capacity, they simply had to get on with their job. So often, the people who provide such help are forgotten about. Today, we should remember them. I commend the amendment to the House, and I trust that the signatories to the motion will accept it.

I again take the opportunity to acknowledge publicly the strength, courage and compassion of all the people who told their stories and described their experiences of that awful day throughout the public inquiry and after it. Their pain and anguish was palpable as they relived the trauma of what happened in Omagh almost 27 years ago. The suffering and the sense of loss will haunt the families for the rest of their lives. The pain and distress of the injured will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Despite their pain and loss, the families have remained steadfast in their ongoing pursuit of truth and justice for their loved ones. Their persistence in continuing with their campaign over the years is the reason that the inquiry was established. Time and again, when the path to truth and justice was blocked, they carried on regardless. They used every legal option open to them until they attained their objective of a public inquiry that has given them the opportunity to examine the fundamental question that has exercised the minds of the families for so long: could the attack have been prevented?

The Irish Government’s Justice Minister has outlined his support for the public inquiry into the Omagh bomb and said that they will do everything possible to assist the inquiry. Minister O’Callaghan said that a central point of contact has been established in his Department to ensure the timely and effective management of all requests from the inquiry.

The motion calls on the Irish Government to conduct their own inquiry into the atrocity. The families called on the Irish Government to carry out a parallel but separate inquiry, but they ultimately want maximum cooperation between the Irish Government and the inquiry that has been established. Last month, Sinn Féin president, Mary Lou McDonald, again supported that call. She agreed with the Omagh families, who have been calling for that cooperation from the beginning, and urged the Government to fulfil their role to ensure that the inquiry is successful.

The enormity of the atrocity and the impact that it has had on the lives of the victims, survivors and families and on the wider Omagh community mean that the motion should have a singular focus on the Omagh Bombing inquiry and not stray into contested legacy issues. We owe it to the families, who have carried the burden of their campaign for 27 years, to grasp the opportunity to send out a united and powerful endorsement of support for the Omagh families in their quest for truth and justice.

I very much share the sentiment behind the motion, although I have some difficulty with the call that is in it. My party sought an amendment with a clearer call for action from both Governments to recognise and act in their role of addressing legacy issues, not least in the case of atrocities with a cross-border element. Further to that, we feel that a duty should be placed on the First Minister and deputy First Minister actively to seek that in the interests of victims and survivors.

We in the Alliance Party feel that it is important to reflect that the Government of Ireland need to take more seriously their role in inquiring into and investigating their own role and that of their agencies during the Troubles. We see little merit in the political attempt to shift responsibility for the matter to another Department, as in the DUP amendment. Responsibility for external affairs and for victims and survivors rests squarely with the Executive Office. Members of the party that proposed the amendment therefore need to take the issue of demonstrating action in the interests of victims and survivors to their colleague the deputy First Minister. They also need to work with all parties towards the outcome that they claim to want, namely much more active cooperation from the Government of Ireland in the quest for truth.

According to evidence provided to the Committee for the Executive Office by Kenny Donaldson from the South East Fermanagh Foundation (SEFF), it is estimated that over 550 murders during the Troubles — about 15% of the total — had a cross-border element. The Omagh bomb, which, of course, came after the agreement, was another horrific example. Mr Donaldson went on to say that the Government of Ireland see themselves as having been an observer of the Troubles rather than the participant that they were. I wonder whether anyone, on objective reflection, can disagree with that assessment.

We have heard a lot of evidence at our Committee from victims’ groups, some of them dealing with other dreadful aspects of the past, such as institutional abuse of children, while others deal directly with the Troubles. On occasion, they take different approaches to issues such as redress, acknowledgement and, indeed, what actually happened. However, what is consistent is that they say that there will never be true reconciliation on this island without full truth. The idea that Northern Ireland is a sealed unit on its own makes no sense. It is defined by its relationship with its neighbours, including the rest of Ireland, as it always will be. That is the case socially; it is the case economically; and it is the case environmentally. The idea that it was entirely some place apart during the Troubles and that the Government of Ireland could play a role as an observer set aside from what was happening up the road or, indeed, in its own jurisdiction, on some occasions, is purely ridiculous.

I will leave it there, but it is important that we prioritise the needs of victims and survivors in the pursuit of truth.

The first and most important thing is to locate everything in empathy and solidarity with the victims of Omagh and their needs. The 29 people, plus two unborn children, who were callously murdered that day in the middle of Omagh deserve nothing but justice. The public inquiry that is now happening is a reminder of the barbarity of that day, but it is also a clarion call to all of us to ensure that the victims get clarity, decency, justice and all that they are entitled to.

Hume’s words on that day, when he described the perpetrators of the attack as “undiluted fascists”, remain as clear and resonant now as they were then. The families have been extraordinarily resilient and dignified in their campaign for truth and justice over the past 27 years. It is extraordinary that it has taken 27 years.

At the beginning of my remarks, I will say that the SDLP has always been clear about the immorality of the acts that took place in the conflict and about the obligations that fall not just on the non-state actors — the paramilitaries who undertook violence — but on the two states. The British state and the Irish state must do right by the victims of the conflict. Paula Bradshaw is correct when she says that it is wrong to characterise the conflict as something that was simply cut off from the rest of this island and, indeed, the rest of these islands. Those two states — the British state and the Irish state — have a moral and legal obligation to do right by the people not just of Northern Ireland but of these islands who were caught up in that conflict.

We can go back to 2001, when the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland concluded that the RUC ignored warnings before the Omagh bomb. There has been a consistent failure on both sides of the border in both jurisdictions not just to protect the interests of the families but to properly pursue and investigate the perpetrators of the Omagh bomb. Those families have been failed consistently. We are clear that both Governments need to accept their responsibilities, and that includes the Irish state.

I welcome the fact that there have been new commitments from Minister O’Callaghan, but we support the call for the Irish state to do more. We have a slight concern with the motion in that it calls for the UK state to compel the Irish state to do something purely because they do not have the vires. It is not entirely clear that they would be able to compel the evidence that we all want.

Let me also say that, when we talk about these issues, it is important that we ground all our contributions in honesty. The victims of our Troubles still today face double-talk and evasion from states, non-state actors and certain political parties, it has to be said.

The Omagh bomb was a grotesque and squalid act. As somebody who passionately believes in a new Ireland, I find it grotesquely offensive that someone could think that planting a bomb in the middle of a town with innocent people around was a legitimate or effective way to achieve a united Ireland. However, it must also be said that, if that act was grotesque and illegitimate in August 1998, it was grotesque in August 1997, 1996 and for many years before that. The Good Friday Agreement was an extraordinary and transformational thing on this island, but it did not magically legitimise car bombs being placed in towns, with innocent children and shoppers. That point has to be made.

We would not have tabled this precise motion or amendment, but the gravity of the issues at stake and the seriousness with which our party takes its moral responsibilities to victims of our Troubles mean that we will support the amendment, albeit, as I said, we would not have phrased it in that precise way. We should all be attempting to move this society towards reconciliation and beyond our brutal and horrible past, but that does not mean not being honest and clear about that past, and it has to include states and state actors.

As we all know, the Troubles and the violence of the past was an incredibly dark chapter for everyone on these islands. Significant progress has, as Members have said, been made since the Good Friday Agreement. The subsequent efforts and the work on reconciliation and truth recovery must continue. It is in that context that I share the concerns raised by my colleague and the Chair of the Executive Office Committee, Paula Bradshaw, when she talked about the need for the Irish Government to fully acknowledge the complexities of their role during that period. While the UK Government’s decision to establish an inquiry into the Omagh bombing is an important and real step, the cross-border nature of that atrocity means that a comprehensive approach involving the Irish and British Governments is important. That is why we had tabled an amendment that would have recognised the role of the Irish Government in addressing the legacy of the Troubles, not in isolation but as part of a collaborative and comprehensive effort involving the UK Government, the Northern Ireland Executive and, crucially, the victims and survivors.

We are calling on the First Minister and deputy First Minister to engage with both Governments to support legislation for a Historical Investigations Unit. That unit would be tasked with examining Troubles-related deaths, including those with a cross-border element, as part of a broader package of measures designed to meet the needs of victims, survivors and their families. Testimonies to the Executive Office Committee, on which I sit as Deputy Chair, from people like Kenny Donaldson from the South East Fermanagh Foundation, suggest that many incidents during the Troubles had a cross-border dimension — to the tune of nearly 15%. In some of those cases, families have raised concerns about the level of information sharing and cooperation between the authorities.

Given the intense sensitivities surrounding these matters, it is crucial that any discussion remains firmly rooted in evidence and respects due process. The British and Irish Governments have a responsibility to work together in addressing the legacy of the Troubles, so I ultimately welcome the UK Government’s renewed commitment to dealing with the past, including their decision to repeal the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, which, as we all know, was opposed across our island, North and South.

It is important and necessary that the UK and Irish Governments take further steps to engage with these issues in the spirit of cooperation and reconciliation. Truth and justice should not be bound by jurisdiction. The establishment of an appropriate investigation unit, with full cross-border cooperation, would represent an important and significant step forward. It is only through openness, partnership and a shared commitment to genuinely addressing the past that we can move forward together.

The record of the Irish Republic when it comes to legacy is quite sickening. To date, it has sat back and acted as some sort of independent party that can equality-proof proposals from the UK Government. The reality is that, throughout the 30 years of terror, the Irish Republic was very much an active participant. I mentioned that today is innocent victims of terrorism day. Yesterday, I held an event to mark the occasion. Afterwards, a member of the public passed a member of my staff a booklet entitled ‘Newry and a Border between “Truth & Justice”‘. It contains many interesting facts and statistics, but I will highlight just one: a table obtained from the National Archives of Ireland containing stats supplied by the British Embassy in Dublin showing that, between 1976 and 1984, between 66% and 100% of the commercial explosive finds in Northern Ireland were manufactured exclusively by Irish Industrial Explosives Ltd. In 1976 alone, over 540 kg of Irish industrial explosives were discovered in Northern Ireland, accounting for almost 90% of the total that year. The Irish Republic has never answered questions as to why explosives from its jurisdiction ended up in the hands of republican terrorists in Northern Ireland and were deployed to murder and maim people with whom its constitution claims it wants to unite “in harmony and friendship”.

It is worth touching on the fact that, because the Irish constitution enshrined the aspiration of a 32-county republic, it was frequently and successfully deployed by terrorists who fought extradition to face justice for crimes here in Northern Ireland. The facts could not be clearer: between 1973 and 1997, there were 110 requests for extradition from the Republic of Ireland by the UK. Of those, just eight were successful. There has never been an investigation by the Irish Republic into how it operated as a safe haven for terrorists. There has never been any regard for the lives of the people of Northern Ireland who were murdered by IRA bombs. All of that was in the name of the 1916 proclamation, which claimed to cherish:

The Chairman of the Executive Office Committee quoted Kenny Donaldson, who made the point that, on the basis of research, there are between 550 and 570 killings that have a cross-border element. He added that, chillingly, victims of republican terror in border areas are, effectively, stateless when it comes to justice. To put it bluntly, Dublin does not care, and London does not want to rock the boat. Frankly, it is sickening that the Irish Republic, where the majority of republican attacks were planned, is the place from which incidents such as the Narrow Water ambush were executed and to which killers fled for sanctuary. The Irish Government continue to wash their hands of their role in the years of IRA terror while all the time presuming to pass judgement on the UK state. The Omagh bomb relatives deserve truth and justice from the Irish Republic, and so do the relatives and families of the 550 to 570 people whose murders were carried out with a cross-border element.

The Omagh bombing and surrounding incidents hold a special place in our household. My father was one of the first responders to the Omagh bomb. As a paramedic, he was called and airlifted to Omagh to find a scene of utter devastation. He returned home to our house in Glengormley the next day and never again uttered a single word about what he had seen that day. That was the tragedy, the mayhem and the murder that he witnessed. He stayed in close contact with the Gallagher family and other members of the Omagh families, and they repaid their debt of gratitude to our family when terrorism visited us.

I commend the work of my colleague Mr Buchanan, who, for years, has proudly championed the cause of a public inquiry here in the United Kingdom and in the Irish Republic. I had the pleasure of being with Mr Buchanan and members of the Omagh families when our party publicly committed itself to supporting their call for a public inquiry here in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland.

The House has an opportunity today to send a clear and unequivocal message that all parties, be they here in the United Kingdom or in the Republic of Ireland, need to step up to the mark. The leader of the Opposition perfectly articulated the fact that, whilst Members of the House may disagree with parts of our amendment’s wording, its intention is to make clear that no person, state actor or Government should be able to avoid their moral duty to the families of the Omagh atrocity. I wish, however, to call out some of the hypocrisy that has been generated here today. It is welcome that all Members of the House have made clear that there was no justification for the Omagh bombing, but, if there was no justification for the Omagh bombing, how was there justification for the Shankill bombing or the bombing at La Mon? As other Members have rightly articulated, all terrorism, regardless of where it came from — loyalism, republicanism or those pretending to act in the interests of anyone in Northern Ireland — was wrong in 1985, 1995 and 2005. That should be the message that comes from the House today.

This has been a respectful and important debate. Members of the Omagh families are listening to what we are saying, so let the House send a clear message and support the amendment that was so eloquently articulated by the Member for West Tyrone.

The Omagh Bombing inquiry is:

In 2021, the High Court determined that the state had an obligation to conduct an article 2-compliant investigation into allegations that there was a real prospect of preventing the terrible atrocity. Therefore, it would, obviously, be for the Secretary of State to formally engage with the Irish Government in relation to the Omagh Bombing inquiry, given that it was set up by him, and that it relates to terrorism and international relations, which are reserved and excepted matters respectively.

While my Department has no role in the conduct of the inquiry, I, like many of you, have been deeply moved by the witness testimonies that have been given thus far. They have been harrowing and distressing to hear and, no doubt, to recount. The unimaginable pain and suffering, as well as the grief, that people have carried as a result of their exposure to such reckless and wanton violence are hard to comprehend. I fervently hope that victims and their families are able to access justice through the process that the Secretary of State has established.

I also acknowledge that it is important for all of us in Northern Ireland to have full confidence in the inquiry, that the inquiry is able to access all the relevant data and information and that anyone who has information provides it to the inquiry and be fully cooperative with it.

Whilst there has been considerable discussion about the compellability of testimony and evidence from the Irish state, I hope that the Irish Government live up to their commitment to fully cooperate with the inquiry, and that such compulsion should not be required. When we are aware of information that could bring someone else truth and justice, it is a moral obligation that falls on all of us that we disclose that information and cooperate in every way that we can. When raised with my counterpart, the Irish Justice Minister, Jim O’Callaghan, during an engagement that I had with him, just yesterday, I was somewhat reassured by the fact that he reiterated, on behalf of the Irish Government, their commitment to cooperate fully with the Omagh Bombing inquiry that is under way. However, as many have stated in the Chamber today, that commitment will only be fully reliable once it is put into action. Words count for very little in this space when confidence is so low and trust is at a premium.

The issue of whether there is a separate inquiry in Ireland is, again, a matter for the Irish Government and not one into which the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland can intrude. However, one issue that was raised by the Irish Justice Minister yesterday, in response to the question, was his concern, which, to some degree, I share, that an entirely separate inquiry could result in putting people through an often-traumatic process of recounting their experiences for a second time. It is therefore sensible to fully explore whether a suitable mechanism can exist by which people will be sufficiently reassured that they will get full accountability and full truth from the inquiry that is taking place.

At all times, we need to be fully mindful of the impact on the victims, witnesses, first responders and wider society of being re-exposed to and having to recount some of the most traumatic experiences that they have ever endured. Whilst any such inquiry is not within the vires of my Department, and I cannot compel another state to hold their own inquiry or, indeed, fully cooperate with the current inquiry, I, nevertheless, fully understand and have sympathy with the concerns and sensitivities involved, which have been raised in the Chamber today. We will be able to judge fully only when we are sighted of the arrangements that are put in place to give that information to the families and the victims.

I am aware that the Irish Government are now actively engaging with the Omagh Bombing inquiry team about finalising the memorandum of understanding that will govern their engagement and information sharing with the inquiry. I hope that that may go some way to providing the confidence that the families need so that, through the inquiry, they will finally be able to achieve the full transparency, truth and justice that they seek and that they truly deserve.

As I bring my remarks to a conclusion, my thoughts this evening are with the Omagh families, who have suffered unimaginable heartbreak and borne the loss of their loved ones, as a result of what was a barbaric and cowardly attack, with the utmost dignity. I hope that, at the end of the process, they will receive the truth and the justice that they deserve, whether as a result of the British Government’s inquiries and engagement or as a result of the Irish Government’s inquiries and engagement.

As Mr Buchanan said, our amendment stems from a concern that a memorandum of understanding would be completely inadequate in providing the answers for victims. It is therefore imperative that the Irish Government instigate their own public inquiry into the Omagh bomb, as per the Horner judgement of 2021, in which Justice Horner stated:

Cooperation is entirely subjective and completely insufficient. As has been said, the families of Kingsmills saw exactly what cooperation from the Irish Government looked like when it amounted to the inquiry being sent newspaper clippings as part of disclosure. That has created a genuine concern among the families that key evidence from the public may never be examined, and key evidence is exactly what it may be, given that the bombing was planned in the Republic and that the bomb was built and transported from there.

For us and, I hope, the rest of the House, it is unacceptable that the Dublin Government are refusing to provide a structure that would help bring the Omagh families answers. The victims and their families deserve truth, accountability and justice on both sides of the border, and our party leader Gavin Robinson has raised that matter with the Prime Minister. Truth and justice must be delivered for the families of those who so needlessly lost their lives to Irish republican terrorism. We all, the Irish included, must listen to the voices of victims, engage with them and not run away from our responsibility to help uncover the truth. The Republic cannot, should not and must not ignore its duty in that regard.

It is difficult to understand how or why the Dublin Government are ignoring the comments of Justice Horner, yet it is not surprising. For years, there have been double standards when it comes to legacy and something of a say-do gap in their approach. They are ever content to tell His Majesty’s Government what they should be doing while doing nothing themselves, failing to investigate repeated allegations of collusion and harbouring those who perpetrated heinous acts of terrorism and fled over the border to safety, and then refusing to extradite them to the UK.

Just for the record, between 1973 and 1997, 113 extradition requests were made to the Republic concerning terrorist-related offences, but only eight people were extradited. Between those same dates, 296 extradition requests were made that related to non-terrorist offences, which resulted in 124 extraditions. Interesting, is it not? Yet, as a member of the Europe Union, the Republic, too, is subject to the articles and obligations of the European Convention on Human Rights, including article 2.

It was noteworthy to hear from Lord Caine, in an answer to Lord McCrea, that the then Secretary of State wrote to the Irish Deputy Prime Minister in January 2024 challenging the Irish Government’s approach to addressing legacy issues, including the number of Troubles-related prosecutions that had been brought in Ireland since 1998. The Labour Government need to do much more than they have done so far: merely and meekly welcoming cooperation and stating that a decision on any inquiry is for the Republic. It may well be, but our Government need to exert pressure and influence, and they need to bring that influence to bear to ensure that there is a concurrent inquiry.

Over the years, we have heard countless criticisms from Dublin about perceived failures when it comes to dealing with the past. Now that the Irish Government have been presented with an opportunity to live up to the standards that they have so often demanded of others, we will watch and wait with anticipation. It is our hope that the Justice Minister will commit to seeking parallel investigative mechanisms in the Republic. I thank her for her response today. Ms Bradshaw indicated that that should be directed to TEO. I am certain that the deputy First Minister will make that case, but so should the Justice Minister.

There need to be concurrent inquiries with the necessary powers to get to the truth. Without that, we worry that any MOU could be proven to be toothless and worthless, that millions will be spent and that the families will be no further on at the end. That would be truly shameful.

I will touch very briefly on the amendment. I thank the DUP for tabling it. It is useful, except that it is a bit clumsy towards the end. In reality, when we bring a motion to the House and are looking at the vires that we have for instructing any other legislature, whether that be Westminster or the Republic, it is important that we do that with a collective voice — that is accepted. The Justice Minister, however, has no more of a fist in this game than the rest of us. I believe that she set out quite well that she has been on record previously on the matter.

I was looking through and listening to some of the testimonies at the inquiry in Omagh so far. I make no excuse for this, but a former colleague of mine gave testimony at the inquiry. I joined the fire service in February 2000, and Paddy Quinn, who was a retained firefighter in Omagh, joined on the same day with me. Unbeknown to me — it was a long time before Paddy shared his story — he was one of the first emergency responders to attend the Omagh bomb site on that day. Much of his story — he told it to us in broken fashion — was not revealed until this year. He revealed, for instance, that, on that day, when he turned up to the site, he found that his mum had been caught up in the explosion. She was standing with a toothbrush and the shards of a plastic bag that had been ripped out of her grasp in her hand. As they looked around the scene and saw what looked like, in Paddy’s words, “a scene from Vietnam”; it looked as though a napalm bomb had destroyed the centre of their town. The horrors that those people faced — this was four months after the Good Friday Agreement and the work that had been done to deliver peace — showed that there were still those who were so bound by fear and hate that they would perpetrate such a violent act.

I thought that Doug Beattie proposed the motion very well. He laid down a lot of irrefutable facts about that fateful day. He explained where the vehicle came from, where the explosives were, perhaps, made — certainly where they were stored and where the timer was attached — where they were assembled and where the plan of escape was made from and to. All of that is irrefutable.

A number of years ago, I wrote to the Justice Minister in the Republic about the matter, and I got a response. The words were warm, and the ink was dry, but it was very evident in the response that there was no intention of entering into a meaningful recovery of truth for the innocent victims in Omagh. Much like some of the calls from Members today for active engagement, that is not enough. It is simply not enough, and one of the reasons why we are here today still talking about it is that active engagement is not enough. We need to tie this down; it needs to be codified; and that needs to be done in an agreement between the UK Government and the Irish Government.

I will run through some of the points that were made, because I genuinely appreciate that Members of all the parties represented today spoke and spoke so well.

Nicola Brogan of Sinn Féin said that she had attended sessions of the inquiry, met family members and recognised their pain and anguish. She also recognised the persistence of the victims’ campaign. I was reading some of the work that was done in 2010, 2011 and 2012 when false hopes were raised. I think that it was Theresa Villiers at that time who declined to hold a public inquiry. However, persistence does and will pay off, because the situation has to change and the Irish Government will have to act. However, it is not enough that there would be warm words and dry ink. It needs an inquiry in the Republic of Ireland.

Paula Bradshaw paid tribute to the victims of the Omagh bombing. I agree that the First Minister, the deputy First Minister and the Executive Office absolutely have a role to play in this, as do all the politicians in the Chamber.

Matthew O’Toole talked about the immorality of terror. He said a number of times that the two states had a moral and legal obligation to do the right thing. Someone talked about a contested narrative for the past. I am sorry, but I cannot accept that Omagh has anything to do with a contested narrative of the past. There is nothing contested when it comes to the murder of innocent people.

Matthew O’Toole also talked about the “squalid Legacy Act”. It just shows that, sometimes in the Chamber we can get it right. Sometimes we can coalesce around doing the right thing, and the move to reconciliation is needed perhaps more than ever so that the failures of our past can be learned and evidenced.

Stewart Dickson spoke of the bravery and the testimony of victims and about prioritising our victims. That should be at the forefront, so that point is absolutely welcome, Stewart. He also said that the UK and the Republic of Ireland need to take further steps. We need to be clear, however, that the message that we send out from the Chamber is that there needs to be either a parallel inquiry or stand-alone inquiries. Warm words will not cut it.

Timothy Gaston reminded us that today is European Remembrance Day for Victims of Terrorism. It is absolutely appropriate that that is the case. He highlighted where the failures were manifested and evidenced in the past. This statistic is incredible: of 110 requests for extradition that were sought by the UK Government from the Republic of Ireland, eight were successful. Why is that important? It is important to just about everybody in this room, I would hope.

On 7 December 1989, I made the journey from a butcher’s shop to another part of Lisburn. I came out of the shop to witness a policeman waving at me. I had just walked past a car. I kind of knew that it looked suspicious, so I ran past it. Around 40 seconds later, a 500 lb IRA bomb exploded behind my head. In Omagh, sadly, people did not get the chance to run. They did not get the warning that they should have got. I am the lucky one. I am lucky to be standing here. I think about what could have happened, and I am sure that many people in this room have had something similar happen to them. The people in Omagh have been left without truth and justice, and somebody knows what happened. If a Government know and are holding on to the information that would give relief and release to those people, shame on them. I mean it: shame on them.

I have not seen the documents that have been mentioned that have redactions and stuff removed or the articles that have been sent. I will not pretend that I have been in this game long enough. However, in 2025, there is absolutely no reason why the Government in the Republic of Ireland should not do what our Government in the UK do, which is fess up and provide the absolute truth for victims of terrorism.