The families of those killed and injured 30 years ago in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings have been done a great wrong. They could have expected, as citizens of this State, that a thorough investigation would have been conducted into what had happened and who was responsible.
They were entitled to believe that every effort would be made to bring the perpetrators to justice. But their needs and demands were ignored. The extent of that abandonment is reflected in the fact that the official inquest into the deaths will only be completed this week.
Wreaths were laid in Talbot Street yesterday to commemorate the lives that were lost in the worst atrocity of the Troubles when three car bombs exploded in Dublin and a further one in Monaghan. On May 17th, 1974, 34 people died, while hundreds more were injured. At yesterday's ceremony, there were renewed calls for a public inquiry, involving the British government, and for more urgent action by the Government here. The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, attended the ceremony and promised to do everything possible to ensure the truth was established. Financial support will be provided to victims through a Remembrance Fund Commission, but their demand for a sworn inquiry is unlikely to be met.
A good deal more is now known about the bombings and their aftermath because of the work of Judge Henry Barron and the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice and Law Reform. Following two years of investigation, Judge Barron found it "probable and more than likely" there had been collusion between members of the RUC, the UDR and the UVF bombers. A lack of co-operation by the British authorities caused him to withhold judgment on whether members of British military intelligence had been involved. Judge Barron was critical of the way the Garda handled its investigation. And he found the government of the day had not shown sufficient concern.
Having considered his report and heard other evidence, the Joint Oireachtas committee recommended last March that a preliminary investigation, of the kind conducted by Judge Cory, should be conducted by the British government in Northern Ireland, to be followed by a sworn inquiry. Given its failure to co-operate with Judge Barron and its subsequent rejection of Judge Cory's recommendation in the Pat Finucane murder case, however, such a development seems improbable. The committee also recommended that separate investigations should be conducted, under new legislation, into how the Garda Síochána responded to the bombings and into why official files went missing.
In recent weeks, a long-delayed inquest into the deaths of the bomb victims produced some important new insights and evidence. Had such material been published at the time, it is difficult to believe a wall of obfuscation and neglect could have been constructed. Thirty years on, that wall must be demolished through action by this Government.