24. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on Northern Ireland will meet next. [22207/25]

Sentiment score: 0.00

I ask about Sean Brown, chairman of Bellaghy Wolfe Tones Gaelic Athletic Club in County Derry, who was ambushed, kidnapped and murdered by loyalist paramilitaries as he locked the gates of the club in May 1997. No one has ever been convicted of his killing. The British Government has failed to establish an independent public inquiry into Mr. Brown's 1997 murder despite being directed to do so by the High Court and despite a ruling by the Court of Appeal in Belfast last month that declared this refusal to be unlawful and a breach of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Tánaiste met Bridie Brown yesterday evening. Will the Irish Government make a clear and unequivocal call for a public inquiry as directed by the High Court and Court of Appeal? I am asking for that to be enunciated very clearly. I am not talking about a nebulous form of investigation but a fully constituted public inquiry that is compliant with Article 2, as directed by the High Court and Court of Appeal.

Sentiment score: -0.17

May I make a point of information?

Sentiment score: 0.00

Go ahead.

Sentiment score: 0.00

Can I make my point of information, please?

Sentiment score: 0.32

For the record, the imperative for a full public inquiry into the murder of Sean Brown is entirely separate to the need for, or any prospect of, the overturning of the wider legacy legislation. It bears no relationship to it. The Taoiseach ought to know that the Brown case is unique in many features. It is about a failed inquest process. A very simple remedy can be afforded to create the public inquiry. I am concerned and anxious that the Government here does not confuse a wider legitimate issue around legacy and the need for a proper legislative framework. That is one thing and an important thing, but the imperative for the inquiry into the murder of Sean Brown is entirely distinct and legally separate from that. I want to make that point with some force to the Taoiseach so it is recorded in the Official Report of the Dáil.

Sentiment score: -0.23