Seanad exchanges over claim Government slow to act on British ‘miscarriages of justice’

Posted By: June 27, 2014

Michael O’Regan. IRISH TIMES.Thursday, June 26, 2014, 22:39


A claim by Fianna Fáil Senator Mark Daly that the Government was not doing enough to
confront the British government on miscarriages of justice led to heated exchanges
in the Seanad.

Mr Daly said miscarriages of justice against Irish citizens and the State continued.

“What are the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste doing in response to a recent excellent RTÉ
documentary which exposed events surrounding a case Ireland took against the British
state for torturing a number of Irish citizens living in the North, who became known
as the ‘hooded men’?,’’ he asked.

“I have not heard the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, or any other member of the Government
express outrage about the way in which the British government lied to the State
about recent revelations that the British prime minister was aware at the time that
elements of the British army were shooting Irish citizens in west Belfast.’’

Hidden files

Mr Daly noted that Fine Gael Senator Paul Coghlan had praised Taoiseach Enda Kenny
for travelling to France this week to discuss Europe’s future. “Perhaps he will ask
the Taoiseach whether he raised with David Cameron the issue of the files hidden
from the State when it prosecuted the British state.’
Mr Coghlan interjected to say that everything proper was done through the
appropriate channels. “Senator Daly is waffling,’’ he added.

Mr Daly asked if it was also intended “to secure the release of the Birmingham Six
and the Guildford Four through the appropriate channels’’. He called for a Seanad
debate “on issues related to the British state’s practice of hiding files, not only
in respect of the cases of the Birmingham Six, Guildford Four and hooded men, but
also in the case of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings’’.

© 2014 irishtimes.com