What I said reflects what is recorded by Justice Smithwick

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams TD commenting on criticisms of his remarks on the Smithwick report said:

“I am very conscious that at the heart of this issue are two bereaved families. I did not need reminded of this by any of my political opponents and I am concerned, as I was during the Newstalk interview, not to say anything which detracts from that or which causes any further hurt. That was never my intention.

What I said reflects what is recorded by Justice Smithwick.

So those who attack me are at odds with what is contained in the Smithwick report.

It is nonsense to suggest that I was blaming the two RUC officers for their own deaths. Everyone knows the IRA was responsible. That was never in question.

There is also no question but that the Smithwick report records serious concerns about the security arrangements for RUC officers travelling to Dundalk through South Armagh. These include the fact that information about possible IRA attacks on RUC officers crossing the border was passed to Garda Headquarters and passed by it to the RUC.

It is a fact that RUC Officer Bob Buchanan was crossing the border on average 10 times each month and on most occasions he travelled in his own car which was ‘readily identifiable.’

In his report Justice Smithwick records, and I quote, ‘there was a general view that the RUC crossing the border were targets’ and ‘they (referring to RUC members) were all warned in relation to that.’

The Smithwick report records a senior Garda officer “discussing security with Superintendent Buchanan and asking him “was he happy with coming up without an escort? If you want an escort, we’ll give you an escort. He said he was all right, and that was it.”

And there are other examples of concern about the visits across the border by the RUC officers.

Clearly, the decision to continue to travel as frequently as they did across the border, without escort, left the RUC officers open to the real possibility of attack.

None of this distracts from the tragedy and loss of life.

Sinn Féin supported the establishment of the Smithwick Inquiry. I co-operated with the inquiry and met Justice Smithwick and his team and number of times.

I have concerns about the Tribunal’s conclusions given that it accepts that it found no direct evidence of collusion and then went on to claim without supporting evidence that ‘on the balance of probabilities’ there was collusion.

Sinn Féin supports the recommendations the Tribunal makes with regard to changes in policing and developing full all Ireland co-operation on policing and justice.

There is also a need to deal with the outstanding issues of Weston Park. The Finucane Family are entitled to the same support and levels of disclosure as the Breen and Buchanan Families.

A few weeks ago in the Dáil I asked the Taoiseach to facilitate a reasoned and rationale debate on the past. I made the point that the past must not be allowed to become an obstacle to building the peace and a harmonious and fair future for all our citizens.

Yesterday’s contrived outburst by the Fianna Fáil leader and the pompous remarks by the Justice Minister and others illustrate the importance of such a debate. Why are they not open to discussing the proposal put by Sinn Féin for a comprehensive, victim centred, truth recovery process under the tutelage of an independent international agency?

Could it be that partitionism and revisionism allied with party political self-interest has primacy over more important matters?

The Smithwick Inquiry Report

Eight years after it was established the report of the Smithwick Tribunal was finally published on Tuesday evening.  

I want to commend Justice Smithwick for his hard work of many years. I am very mindful that at the heart of the Smithwick Inquiry there are two bereaved families and I hope the report helps bring some measure of closure for them.

I also want to commend the Irish government for fulfilling its obligation under the Weston Park Agreement. The onus is now on the British government to move speedily to holding the promised inquiry into the murder of human rights lawyer Pat Finucane.

The Smithwick Tribunal was established as a result of an agreement in the negotiations in Weston Park in 2001 between the British and Irish governments.

Canadian Judge Peter Cory was asked to look at the killing of Pat Finucane; Robert Hamill; Rosemary Nelson; Billy Wright; Judge Gibson and his wife; and RUC Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and RUC Superintendent Robert Buchanan.

Cory worked diligently and in 2003 he handed his reports over to the two governments. The Canadian Judge concluded that there was no basis for an inquiry into the deaths of the Gibsons. He proposed that there was a basis for inquiries into all of the others, including the killing of the two RUC officers.

The Irish government published Cory’s recommendations in December 2003 and announced that it would set up an inquiry, but the British stalled until April 2004 before publishing his reports to them.

Ten years later of the six cases investigated by Judge Cory only the Pat Finucane Inquiry has yet to commence. It is clear that the British government is deeply worried by the enormous political implications of the Finucane case which is known to involve substantial institutional collusion between British state forces and the UDA.

This concern was evident in the introduction by the British government in June 2005 of the Inquiries Act 2005. This legislation deliberately limits the scope of the inquiries proposed by Cory who criticised the British move saying it "...would make a meaningful inquiry impossible."

In June 2006 I met with Justice Smithwick at his request. He asked if I could help. I explained to him that in 2005 the IRA put its weapons beyond use and stood down its structures. The IRA had left the stage. However, after some effort three former IRA volunteers agreed to give evidence to the Tribunal.

A process was put in place to facilitate this. When this was achieved Sinn Féin stepped back and the process moved forward. This was a significant and unprecedented development. For the first time former members of the IRA gave evidence to an inquiry into an IRA action. Clearly this would not have been possible if the Tribunal had not created the context to allow it.  

The decision by three former members of the IRA to voluntarily give evidence to the Smithwick Tribunal was an important development. This was the first time former members of the IRA have ever given evidence to an inquiry into an IRA action. The engagement between the three former volunteers and Smithwick is historically unparalleled.

Justice Smithwick accepts much of the evidence given by the former IRA volunteers, for example describing their witness account as a ‘valuable resource for the Tribunal.’ At other points in his report he acknowledges that their evidence in respect of the movement of the RUC car is ‘fully consistent’ with information logged in the journal of RUC Superintendent Bob Buchanan.

Justice Smithwick’s conclusion is contradictory. On the one hand he concludes that the Tribunal ‘has not uncovered direct evidence of collusion’.

But then, in a clear contradiction of this and on the basis of circumstantial and untested intelligence Justice Smithwick then goes on to say that ‘on balance of probability’ some form of collusion occurred.

What Justice Smithwick defines as collusion is very different in form and scale from the collusion that occurred in the north. During 30 years of war the British state was responsible for structured, institutionalised and co-ordinated state run collusion and unionist death squads which led to the deaths of hundreds of citizens, including those killed in the Dublin and Monaghan and Dundalk bomb attacks.

The British government arrogantly disregards the unanimous all-party Oireachtas motion calling on it to provide vital information about these bomb attacks. The Pat Finucane Inquiry is now the only inquiry agreed to at Weston Park that has not been held.  The British government is in clear breach of its commitments.

The Irish government now needs to assertively lobby the British government, including at an international level, to honour its commitment and to set up the promised public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane.

Sinn Féin supported these inquires on the basis that families had the right to full disclosure of all relevant information. Sinn Féin believes that there needs to be an effective truth process for dealing with all legacy issues.

We have repeatedly called on the British and Irish governments to invite in a reputable and independent international body to establish an Independent International Truth Commission which would be independent of any state, combatant groups, political parties, civil society and economic interests and would have a remit to inquire into the extent and pattern of the conflict as well as their causes and consequences.

I helped to facilitate the engagement between the former IRA volunteers and the Smithwick Tribunal because I believe there is a responsibility to assist families bereaved in the conflict, though this may not be possible in all cases.

Republicans are very conscious of the hurt and suffering which has been caused through conflict in our country. Sinn Féin has repeatedly called on the British and Irish governments to invite in a reputable and independent international body to establish an Independent International Truth Commission which would be independent of any state, combatant groups, political parties, civil society and economic interests.

It should have a remit to inquire into the extent and pattern of past violations as well as their causes and consequences and would be dependent on the full co-operation of all the relevant parties.

 

Government decision on Symphysiotomy overdue

The decision by the government to appoint Judge Yvonne Murphy who will assist in finding closure for women who have been left traumatised, and physically and mentally scarred by the barbaric practice of symphysiotomy, is long overdue.

 

The decision to provide a relatively short time frame of eight weeks for Judge Murphy to submit her report to the Minister for Health is useful provided the government doesn’t then delay in announcing what it intends to do. 

I am concerned that the terms of reference are not clear and as we know in these situations the devil is in the detail.  

The decision of the government to oppose the lifting of the Statue of Limitations to allow victims to take their cases to court – if that is their wish – is unacceptable. The victims of symphysiotomy should have the opportunity to choose which course of action is right for them and it is unfair of the government to prevent this. 

I am also troubled by the Minister’s continued refusal to publish the Walsh Report until after the government has decided what to do. In the interests of openness and to allow all of the women affected to decide on the best course of action for them it is necessary that the Walsh report is published. 

The use of symphysiotomy, the inconsistent and minimal application of known standards of care; the inadequate supervision of the clinicians who used the practice; the lack of attention patient’s rights; and the failure of successive government’s over many years to deal with this issue properly and to provide for those women on whom it was used, goes to the heart of the quality of healthcare in this state.

 

Below is a PQ - Parliamentary Question that I submitted to the Minister for Health and his response on this issue.

QUESTION NO: 207

DÁIL QUESTION addressed to the Minister for Health (Dr. James Reilly)
by Deputy Gerry Adams
for WRITTEN ANSWER on 27/11/2013

* To ask the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Questions in which he said that he expected to bring forward proposals on symphysiotomy to the Government, when these proposals will be brought forward; if the Government have decided how best to proceed in relation to this issue; when he will release the name of the judge he will appoint to meet with the women concerned to facilitate decisions on how best to bring closure to the issue; and the length of time he expects the mediation process to take.

Gerry Adams T.D.

Details Supplied: PQ's 444, 472, 476 & 486


REPLY.
I received the approval of the Government yesterday to appoint Judge Yvonne Murphy to assist in finding closure for women who have been affected by a symphysiotomy procedure. The Judge will work with key parties; including representatives of the women, the State Claims Agency and insurance companies in proposing a just outcome. Judge Murphy's work will take around eight weeks, at which time she will submit her independent report to me. I will then revert to Government with detailed proposals so that a decision can be taken as early as possible in the New Year. At that stage Prof Oonagh Walsh's Report will be published.

The Terms of Reference for the work of Judge Yvonne Murphy are:

1. To examine all relevant reports and information relating to symphysiotomy.

2. To meet women who have undergone surgical symphysiotomy procedures to assess what, in their opinion, would bring closure for them.

3. To assess, in conjunction with the State Claims Agency (SCA)and other relevant bodies, the relative liabilities of insurers, indemnifiers and/or other parties in relation to cases pending, or which may arise linked to surgical symphysiotomy procedures.

4. To meet insurers, indemnifiers and/or other parties in relation to such liabilities and to explore and negotiate a quantum representing a fair contribution towards a fund which would form part of an ex-gratia scheme to which Government would also contribute in order to establish an ex-gratia scheme and put closure on the issue for the women involved.

5. To assess the merits and cost to the State of proceeding with an ex-gratia scheme relative to allowing the court process to proceed.

6. To report to the Minister within a period of 8 working weeks on the outcome of these deliberations, with recommendations on the next steps.

I met representatives of the women yesterday with Judge Murphy to assure everyone that she will consult with all relevant parties in an environment where there are no preconceived ideas of what her conclusions might be. In this way her work will be truly independent.

My priority continues to be to ensure that the women who have had this procedure have their health needs comprehensively and professionally met. In this regard, the HSE provides a range of services to women who may be experiencing any adverse effects as a result of undergoing this procedure. These services include the provision of medical cards for the women, the availability of independent clinical advice and the organisation of individual pathways of care and the arrangement of appropriate follow-up. All these services are available on request by the women from the HSE nominated Symphysiotomy Liaison Officers.

 

The Sagart

 

Clonard is a place of pilgrimage. They came in their thousands this week to say a final goodbye to a good priest, a close friend, a gentle and kind hearted man, and as courageous and humble a human being as you could ever hope to meet.

Fr. Alec Reid died in his sleep in the early hours of last Friday morning. I had been with him the previous Thursday and he was in good form. Talkative, funny and enjoying his hospital tea in St. Vincent’s in Dublin. But his condition deteriorated. I was phoned on Thursday night and told that he only had days. I arranged to travel down on Friday to visit him but shortly after 9am on Friday morning we got word that he had quietly passed in his sleep.  

I was deeply shocked and saddened at his death. For forty years I have known him as a good friend to me and my family, and a selfless and unstinting worker in the search for justice and peace. In the midst of hard times Fr. Reid was always there offering comfort and solidarity and advice.  

He was one of the good guys. His death is a huge loss to all the people of Ireland, to his fellow priests in the Redemptorist community and to his family, especially his sisters Margaret and Maura, his Aunt Ita, his wider family circle and his many friends.  

I first met Fr. Alec in the Cages of Long Kesh, where I was interned, in the mid 1970s. He and Father Des Wilson were pioneers of peace making in those difficult times. Both men were deeply committed to living the gospel message and to making it relevant to the particular circumstances in which they ministered. They developed dialogue with loyalists and facilitated meetings between us and some prominent people from loyalist paramilitarism. Both were tenacious peacemakers. 

I met him again on Easter Sunday after my release in 1976, when at my request he and Fr. Des – who thankfully is still with us - intervened to negotiate an end to the inter-republican feuds in Belfast. Theysucceeded in establishing an arbitration and mediation process between the different republican organisations.  

Fr. Alec had more freedom than most priests because he belonged to an order – the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, popularly known as the Redemptorists – which fully supported the work he was doing. The Redemptorist mission is to ‘preach the values and the blessings of the Christian Gospel to people everywhere but particularly to the poor, the marginalised and the downtrodden’.

The Sagart was ordained in 1957and was appointed to Clonard Monastery several years later. From 1969 and throughout the intervening years of conflict Fr. Reid was constantly involved in a number of special peace-making ministries. The objective of these was to give comfort and support to the people living at the coal-face of the violence; helping prisoners and their families; and promoting understanding and reconciliation between the people of Belfast. He was also Chaplain to and worked closely with the Traveller community in Belfast.

Another Clonard ministry was to foster dialogue and friendship between the separated Christians of Belfast, an enterprise he took especially to heart, working tirelessly to move the conflict off the streets and onto the conference table. 

Fr. Alec was also a friend of the prisoners and part of the line of communication between them and the British Government during the first Hunger Strike in 1980. He actively encouraged initiatives in support of the H Block blanketmen and the Armagh women. It was Fr. Reid who suggested that we meet with Cardinal O Fiaich on the prison issue and it was Fr. Reid who persuaded the Cardinal to visit the republican political prisoners on the blanket protest in July 1978.  

Afterward the Cardinal, then Archbishop, O Fiaich, condemned the conditions under which the prisoners were being held, and said: “Having spent the whole of Sunday in the prison, I was shocked at the inhuman conditions prevailing in H-Blocks 3,4 and 5 where over 300 prisoners were incarcerated. One would hardly allow an animal to remain in such conditions, let alone a human being. The nearest approach to it that I have seen was the spectacle of hundreds of homeless people living in sewer pipes in the slums of Calcutta.” 

The Cardinal informed the then British Secretary of State, Humphrey Atkins, of these meetings and tried to mediate a resolution of the prison protest. It failed. The British were determined to break the prisoners. 

Fr. Reid was devastated by the commencement of the first hunger strike. He had lobbied ferociously for an end to the dispute. The stress of trying and failing to get a resolution of this issue took its toll and he took seriously ill. I used to visit Fr. Alex in Drogheda hospital. On one occasion Colette and I found him in a very distressed state as the health of the hunger strikers deteriorated. Paradoxically, while the plight of the prisoners and their families and the ongoing conflict continued to wear him down, he took great comfort from the messages of support that the blanket men had smuggled out to him.

Some of his friends arranged to send him to Rome where the Redemptorist main headquarters is. Fr. Alec enjoyed Rome; he delighted in wandering through the city and eventually finding his way back to the Redemptorist House at nightfall. One day, on May 13th 1981, 8 days after Bobby Sands died on Hunger Strike, Fr. Alec was in St. Peter's square, reflecting on events in Ireland, the hunger strike and how different this was to Belfast with its daily bombing attacks and intermittent gun battles. As he tried to get closer to where the Holy Father, John Paul II’s procession was passing an armed man dashed forward close to the Sagart and shot the Pope.

The Sagart, in a state of some understandable shock and concern for the Pope’s well being, made the mistake of recounting his experiences to friends back home. It was a story that was to be told and retold with suitable irreverence in typical black Belfast style for years after that.

It wasn’t until July of the following year that the Sagart was allowed to return to Ireland but on condition that he didn't come north. His superiors were afraid that his fragile health could be undermined if he was allowed to become re-involved in his previous activities.

When he eventually did we resumed our conversations about the conflict, its causes and how it might be ended. It was obvious that dialogue was the necessary first step. In the early 1980s we tried to commence a process of engagement with the Catholic Hierarchy, the SDLP, and the Irish and British governments. They were all rebuffed. The breakthrough came after Fr. Reid wrote a letter to John Hume on May 19 1986. John phoned the monastery the next day and he arrived at Clonard on May 21^st. 

Towards the end of 1987 we decided that John and I would begin party-to-party meetings. The Sagart formally wrote to both of us as ‘an interested third party’ inviting Sinn Féin and the SDLP to ‘explore whether there could be agreement on an overall nationalist strategy for justice and peace.’ He presented us with a paper entitled ‘A concrete proposal for an overall political strategy to establish justice and peace in Ireland.’ 

I brought the invitation to our Ard Chomhairle. It responded positively and John and I met on Monday January 11^th 1988 for several hours. For the first time our meeting was publicised and there was an immediate and generally hostile response from the governments, the other political parties and sections of the media. Jump forward 25 years and it is the same sections of the media and in many cases the same journalists who are still busy peddling their anti-Sinn Féin agenda. 

Fr. Reid never allowed any of it to distract him. He was tenacious in his pursuit of peace. He wrote copious letters to political leaders here and in Britain and engaged in countless meetings with politicians and government’s seeking to persuade them to start the process of talking. He saw good in everyone and lived the gospel message. His was the gospel of the streets.  

He was there during the first hunger strike and became ill as a consequence of the stress. He was there during the battle of the funerals including the funerals of the IRA volunteers killed at Gibraltar. He was in Milltown Cemetery when the mourners were attacked. Three were killed and over 60 wounded. Several days later he administered the last rites to the two British soldiers killed at the subsequent funeral of one of the victims Caoimhin MacBradaigh.  

Fr. Reid also helped broker talks between Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil and subsequently the Irish government and Sinn Féin. In 1999, at my request, he became involved in the ongoing efforts to locate the remains of those who had been killed and secretly buried by the IRA and others. After several years it became apparent that our initial hope that all of the remains would be located quickly was naive. He and I discussed this and consequently we put to the governments a proposal that experts in the recovery of remains, using high-tech equipment and archaeological methods should be employed.  

Later in 2005 he was an independent witness, along with Rev Harold Good, to the IRA putting its arms beyond use and during this time he was also involved in trying to develop a peace process in the Basque country. 

Today we brought him to his last resting place in the Redemptorist plot in Milltown cemetery. Earlier hundreds of his religious colleagues, political and community leaders and the people of west Belfast attended his funeral mass in Clonard.

The Sagart lived a full life. His contribution to peace in Ireland is immeasurable. There would not be a peace process at this time without his diligent doggedness and his refusal to give up. He remained through all these turbulent times a good and simple priest. He was forthright, funny and totally dedicated to upholding the dignity of human beings. He was an active proponent of equality, particularly of a woman’s right to equality. 

He was also a proud Tipperary man and a hurling enthusiast. His last words to me were “Up Tipp”. 

Go ndeanfaid Dia trocaire ar a n’anam dilse.

 

 

 

The MRF - taking out unwanted members of the public

The BBC Panorama programme on the Military Reaction Force shines a light on the one aspect of Britain’s dirty war in Ireland. The existence of the MRF has been known for over 30 years but John Ware’s documentary usefully provides new information on a secret British Army unit that operated with impunity in the early 70s.

The use of counter-gangs, like the MRF and the Force Reconnaissance Unit (FRU) and others; of agents and informers; and of specialist military units is as old as war itself. The British military establishment has long made use of these tactical tools. I am quite confident it is passing that experience on to its current crop of young officers in Sandhurst.

As used by successive British governments in Ireland this involved reshaping the judiciary, the law, the police and the media to suit the political and military objectives of the generals and the politicians. According to Frank Kitson the British Army’s foremost proponent of counter-insurgency tactics: ‘Everything done by a government and its agents in combating insurgency must be legitimate. But this does not mean that the government must work within exactly the same set of laws during an emergency as existed before hand. The law should be used as just another weapon in the government’s arsenal, in which case it becomes little more than a propaganda cover for the disposal of unwanted members of the public.’

That was the job of the MRF. To kill unwanted members of the public. If unarmed republicans or civilians were killed that was acceptable.

In every major conflict in the 20^th century and in the colonial struggles for independence – in Algeria and Vietnam, in Kenya and Mozambique, in Aden and Cyprus – the same strategies were employed. The court case taken by Kenyans who were imprisoned and tortured by the British Army in Kenya and which was covered extensively in the Guardian provides one example outside of Ireland of these practices at work.

It is a sad fact that the conflict in Ireland has left thousands of families bereaved and hurting. In the last month there have been anniversaries to mark the Enniskillen bomb, the Greysteel Massacre, the Shankill bomb and other similar events. There has also been the recent publication of ‘Lethal Allies’. Through a detailed examination of the facts this book connects British state forces with 120 deaths of civilians in a five year period in the 1970s. And it reveals the way in which the political and judicial system covered up these actions.

This is what happens when politicians surrender their power to the generals. When diplomacy ends and war takes over and generals and their armies do what they have been trained to do, which is defeat the enemy.

I am an Irish republican. British government involvement in Irish affairs and the partition of my country are in my view at the core of the problem but I recognise that others, for example, the unionists, have a different view and their own sense of truth. There will be those in the British system who also have a different analysis. There are many differing narratives. Different perspectives on the causes of the conflict, what happened and who was responsible. All of these narratives have their own truth. There is no single voice for victims. Some want truth. Some want judicial processes. We need to set all of these narratives side by side and respect them all.

The war is over. But the legacy of conflict remains with us. The pain from decades of conflict is, for many, as real today as it was when a loved one was killed.

US diplomats Richard Haass and Meghan O Sullivan are currently conducting intensive negotiations to deal with outstanding aspects of the Good Friday and other Agreements. These include the legacy issues. Everyone who has an interest in peace knows that the past cannot be allowed to be an obstacle to building the future. So, there needs to be a measured and inclusive debate on all of the issues involved.

Sinn Féin has proposed that an international, independent truth recovery process underpinned in legislation should be established. Others have different ideas of how this issue should be dealt with and that is fair enough, but we need to take this opportunity to move the process forward in a way that listens to, respects and treats all victims on the basis of equality, and also builds the future for the survivors.

 

Unshackling the Past

US diplomats Richard Haass and Meghan O Sullivan are currently conducting intensive and inclusive negotiations to deal with outstanding aspects of the Good Friday and other Agreements. These include the legacy issues arising from the conflict.

Everyone who has an interest in building the peace knows that the past cannot be allowed to be an obstacle to building the future. So, there needs to be a measured and inclusive debate on all of the issues involved.

Today the north’s Attorney General John Larkin has put forward his ideas on dealing with one aspect the legacy of the past - the issue of prosecutions. He has expressed a view that there should be no prosecutions, inquests or inquiries for incidents before the Good Friday Agreement.

Mr. Larkin has also said that the current position favours non-state forces. That is not the case. The British government is in breach of international agreements and commitments in respect of the Pat Finucane Inquiry and the Dublin and Monaghan bombs. And to all intents and purposes there is an amnesty for the British state forces and their allies. While over the years thousands of republicans and innocent nationalists have served very lengthy prison sentences.

I have not had the chance to read the Attorney General’s full remarks on this issue. But I think it is a good thing that the Haass talks have encouraged people - he has had several hundred submissions – to express their opinions, including victims.

Our wider society needs to have this debate. We need a sensitive, measured, reasoned and intelligent debate on these issues which recognises that any mechanism put in place must be victim centred and that it has to be done on the basis of equality.

The conflict is over but the legacy of conflict remains with us. The pain, suffering and the tragedies from decades of conflict are, for many, as real today as they were when they first occurred.

Sinn Féin believes that if legacy issues are located in the framework of conflict resolution and of the broader peace process then these matters will be addressed in way which will heal divisions, consolidate the peace and become guarantors for the future. Truth recovery and acknowledgement are critical to dealing with the past and can become a powerful dynamic in the quest for reconciliation.

Sinn Féin has proposed that an international, independent truth recovery process underpinned in legislation should be established. Others have different ideas of how this issue should be dealt with and that is fair enough, but we need to take this opportunity to move the process forward in a way that looks after the victims but also builds the future for the survivors.

It is necessary that in coming to the issue of truth and reconciliation that we all recognise that there are many different narratives to this story. All of these narratives have their own truth. There is no single voice for victims. Some want truth. Some want judicial processes.

There are also different perspectives on the causes of the conflict, what happened and who was responsible.

I am an Irish republican. British government involvement in Irish affairs and the partition of this country are in my view at the core of the problem but I recognise that others, for example, the unionists have a different view and their own sense of truth, Fine Gael may have its own analysis. Or Fianna Fáil and others including the British government. We need to set all of these narratives side by side and respect them all.

How do we encourage such a debate? The starting point must be a recognition by the Irish government that this is a crucial matter and that as a co-equal partner with the British government it has a responsibility to look after everyone on this island including our unionist neighbours.

In this context I am looking to the government to encourage a joined-up inclusive, thoughtful discussion aimed at unshackling us from the past. We need a process that can ensure that the past is never repeated and which is aimed at forging a more hopeful future for the people who have survived the conflict and for our children and grandchildren.

In this respect I am very conscious of the upcoming state visit by the President to Britain. It is important that these seismic changes can be measured by people not just in the palaces but also in the laneways and hillsides across this island.

Finally in our submission to the Haass talks Sinn Féin submitted a paper ‘Addressing Legacy Issues – Building a Common Future’. We have also made submissions on Flags and emblems and on parades. All of these are available at www.sinnfein.ie

The Troika may be leaving but the mind-set remains

Yesterday the Minister for Finance Michael Noonan told the Finance Committee in the Dáil that the issue of a decision on whether or not the state needed a precautionary credit line following its exit from the bailout was not on the agenda of today’s meeting of Eurozone finance ministers in Brussels.

This morning an emergency Cabinet meeting was called and the Dáil was given less than an hour to respond to an unspecified statement from the government. Was it going for ‘backstop’, a post-bailout credit line, or was it not? The media was well briefed. The government spin doctors had done their work and had the line before the Taoiseach stood up in the Dáil and told members.

It was all good political theatre. The government constructed a dramatic announcement for its decision to set aside the option of a post bailout credit line. Its PR spin is obvious. It’s all about the government patting itself on the back and claiming that it has regained economic sovereignty and brought an end to the rule of the Troika.

But the truth is much different. It was bounced on the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste by their master in Europe. The government has no strategic plan, stumbles from crisis to crisis and has no long term vision – except that is to impose more austerity policies on a financially exhausted and exasperated citizenry.

The truth is that while the Troika may be leaving, the Troika mind-set remains. The government has over its two and a half years in office slavishly followed the policies of the last Fianna Fáil government and has embraced austerity. It has even gone as far as introducing austerity measures that were not recommended by the Troika.

It has taxed and cut the most vulnerable in Irish society, unbidden by its European masters. It has very specifically and unfairly targeted young unemployed citizens, the elderly, working mothers and those in need of medical cards.

These citizens are being made to carry the can for the economic collapse and the recklessness of bankers, developers and politicians. That is patently unfair.

In the government’s October’s 2014 budget older citizens have been particularly hard hit with cuts to the telephone allowance; the loss of the bereavement grant; the withdrawal of medical cards and cuts to the invalidity pension. That is unfair.

As a result of this and last year’s budget, older citizens will have lost €22.60 per month in the telephone allowance. That is particularly mean-spirited.

The Budget also saw Maternity Benefit cut for the second year in a row. This will adversely affect 90% of women in receipt of Maternity Benefit. Cutting Maternity Benefit is contrary to the interests of women, of children and indeed of Irish society. It is also unfair.

What is equally unfair is the fact that Fine Gael and Labour, just like Fianna Fáil before them, have embraced forced emigration as a policy choice. Already there are 1,700 people emigrating from this state every week. The vast majority of these are young, educated citizens, unable to get suitable employment.

This morning’s announcement makes no positive difference to them or their families and the government’s determination to pursue austerity coupled with its inadequate Youth Guarantee Scheme means that more of our young people will continue to leave for the hope of jobs abroad.

Next year, whether the Troika is here or not, the government will take €2 billion more from the economy in water charges, taxes and more cuts to health, education and other vital services.

On top of that, citizens in this state still subject to the terms of the fiscal treaty, which this government and Fianna Fail pushed the people to support.

For many more years, the Irish people will be forced to carry an unsustainable debt burden, inflicted on us because of the austerity policy Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fail embraced to bail out the banks.

The reality is that the government has secured nothing to relieve citizens of this odious debt.

17 months ago the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste were proclaiming their achievements at the June 2012 Euro summit. They claimed it was a game changer a seismic shift. Having pumped €65 billion of taxpayers money into bad and toxic banks it was claimed that the European Stability Mechanism would reduce banking debt, separate banking debt from sovereign debt and that it would be retrospective and we would get some of our money back.

None of this has happened.

If we are to begin to regain our economic sovereignty, it will not be under this government. Nor will not be under Fianna Fáil.

This government should go. The only way to rebuild the economy is to make deficit adjustments that are fair and growth friendly. The economy must be stimulated and jobs created if recovery is to be sustainable. The banking debt is a noose around the neck of the people. It must be restructured and reduced.

We are leaving the bailout programme but we cannot get away from the legacy and the damage caused by austerity. Our public services are decimated and families across the state are in poverty. The government and especially the Labour party should be ashamed of this.