Last year, we heard the word ‘collusion’ uttered countless times. It’s tied to the past and ‘weaponised’ as another way of inflicting damage.
One aspect of collusion concerns what happened in the Republic of Ireland.
Did a member or members of An Garda Síochána work with PIRA to murder RUC officers and part-time members of the security forces who were abducted, taken to the Republic of Ireland, brutally interrogated and then their remains returned to a ditch on the Northern Ireland side of the border?
Why were there poor or no murder investigations carried out by the Gardaí in all such cases?
Was there a series of cover-ups? Why is important documentation not being made available?
What was the role and involvement of Irish Military Intelligence with the PIRA during the ‘Troubles’ to see to it that the violence was confined to ‘the north?’
It’s right we should ask these questions of authorities in the Republic of Ireland. Sadly, the level of assistance and cooperation we get from Dublin is significantly less than what we receive in Belfast.
We would like to see greater openness from Dublin. We represent victims of terrorism whose relatives were murdered across the border and they deserve to be treated with respect and decency by Mr Martin’s government.