I thank the Deputies for their productive engagement during today's debate. I will convey the many assurances of support for the passing of this Bill to the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan. My belief and that of the Government is that we must do all we can to assist the inquiry so that its investigation into the fundamental question of whether the bombing could reasonably have been prevented is as comprehensive as possible. Actions speak louder than words, and the Government has demonstrated its commitment through the concrete measures the Minister has already taken. The measures relating to the disclosure of materials are working well, with a significant quantity of materials having been disclosed to the inquiry and further disclosure continuing on a rolling basis. The bona fides of the Minister's Department and An Garda Síochána have been acknowledged publicly by the inquiry, most recently at its hearing last week, and that is welcome. There is of course much more to be done. As the inquiry made clear, the volume of potentially relevant materials held by An Garda Síochána and other State bodies should not be underestimated. It is important that the process is conducted in a rigorous manner rather than being rushed. The fixing by the inquiry of a date for its first evidential hearings to start in September is welcome. It was disappointing that the original date set for this month was postponed, particularly for the families and the survivors. I note that the inquiry, at its hearing last week, identified a number of contributing factors, including the scale of disclosure by our authorities, as making the original date unviable. The Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, and the Garda Commissioner have dedicated resources in place to ensure timely handling of all requests from the inquiry. The Bill will complement the measures already in place by enabling the taking of sworn testimony for the purposes of the inquiry. Some may query why it is necessary to provide for a bespoke mechanism whereby the evidence will be taken before our courts and not before the inquiry in the UK. The reality is that there is an undeniable tension between the Government's desire to assist an inquiry established under the law of another sovereign jurisdiction and the duty of the Government to work within the laws of Ireland and to safeguard the essential interests of the State and the rights of citizens. The Minister has sought to go as far as possible, using the 2019 statutory mechanism as a template but adding to it in some notable respects, not least in facilitating the families and survivors to be present in the High Court to hear any evidence at first hand. The Government is satisfied that this bespoke approach is legally robust and will maximise the evidential opportunities available to the inquiry. The Bill is focused on the terrible atrocity that was the Omagh bombing but there were many others committed over the course of the Troubles. Many were the subject of the Kenova report, which we debated in this House last month. Reaching agreement on the joint framework to address the legacy of the Troubles last autumn was a major step towards providing routes to truth and accountability for those many other families and survivors. The Government is committed to giving effect to its commitments under the framework. The Garda legacy liaison unit has already been established to act as a single point of contact for victims in relation to unresolved incidents in this jurisdiction. The Government has also committed to putting in place the arrangements necessary to facilitate the fullest possible co-operation with the UK legacy commission, once it is established. The UK Government has made a reciprocal commitment in respect of legacy investigations and inquiries in this jurisdiction. Legislation is required in both jurisdictions. The progress on the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill in the UK Parliament is to be welcomed. While our legislation can only be published and proceed through the Houses once the UK Bill is in place, the Minister hopes to be in a position to publish his proposals before the summer and to bring them before the Houses as quickly as possible once the UK Bill is law. Deputy Alan Kelly asked whether the disclosure process by the Irish State was to blame for the six-month delay to the inquiry. I will put on record that the decision by the inquiry last December to postpone its March evidential hearing was disappointing, particularly for survivors and for victims' families. At its procedural hearing on 19 March, the inquiry announced that the postponed hearings will now begin on 21 September. The announcement of a date for the rescheduled hearing is welcome. The inquiry referred to the disclosure of Irish State materials as being only one of several reasons the March hearings were postponed and did not seek to assign blame to anyone, least of all the Government of Ireland and our authorities. I refer Deputy Kelly to the published transcript of the inquiry's hearing of last Thursday, 19 March, where counsel to the inquiry felt the need to correct inaccurate media reporting on this matter. He said: can we be clear, anyone who has based their reporting of the proceedings ... on the basis that ... [the inquiry] suggested that the government of Ireland was the sole cause for the need for the postponement, anyone who has reported on the basis ... that the government of Ireland was being blamed, has made a serious error and must correct it. Returning to the Bill, I have listened to the contributions here today since taking over from the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, here in the Chamber. I will brief him on those contributions. He looks forward to working with Deputies to ensure this Bill makes its passage through this House and the other House as soon as possible. We thank the Deputies for their contributions.

Sentiment score: 0.19