Responding Mrs Dodds said:
“This is a poignant time for the victims of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings which were horrific acts of terror. They all deserve justice.
The Republic of Ireland has lectured politicians in Northern Ireland and across the UK in how to deal with the legacy of the Troubles yet has repeatedly failed to face up to the role it played in the Troubles.
The Irish Government, whilst calling for truth from the UK Government has been urged by the Courts to hold a Public Inquiry into the Omagh Bomb, yet has repeatedly refused the calls by families and others to set up such an Inquiry. Despite the bomb being planned and built in the Republic.
The Kingsmill Massacre stands as another Republic of Ireland inconsistency. The coroner found that the attack was planned well in advance and from within the Republic of Ireland. Terrorists were able to cross the border to carry out the attack and in its aftermath we are told the Garda did not provide information because they were not asked for it. Such an approach from the Irish Republic makes a mockery of their stance today against the UK Government’s legacy legislation.
Ian Sproule was murdered by the IRA outside his home near Castlederg in April 1991. There have long existed allegations of collusion between the Provisional IRA and the Garda in relation to the murder of Mr Sproule. These allegations surround an official Garda security document which was leaked to the IRA and subsequently presented to journalists by the terrorists as a presumed justification for Ian’s murder.
The Garda had allegedly requested information on Mr Sproule from the RUC just weeks prior to his murder. The findings of the internal Garda investigation into the alleged collusive elements have been withheld from the family for over 20 years.
I will be writing to Micheál Martin seeking clarity as whether all documents will now be handed over and whether there will be further public inquiries held into allegations of collusion between Garda and Republican terrorists.”
