Role of the Irish Government during the Troubles and legacy accountability
Tabled 10 September 2025 by Carla Lockhart
That this House condemns the failure of the Irish Government to investigate credible allegations of collusion between members of An Garda Síochána and the Provisional IRA during the Troubles; notes with grave concern the murder of Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Bob Buchanan in 1989, in which the Smithwick Tribunal concluded that, on the balance of probabilities, information was passed from within Dundalk Garda station to the IRA, directly facilitating their deaths; further notes the 1991 murder of Ian Sproule, a 23-year-old civilian, amid allegations that the IRA were in possession of a Garda intelligence file containing his personal details, with the Sproule family still denied truth and accountability more than three decades later; rejects any attempt to introduce an amnesty for those responsible for terrorist murders and other serious crimes during the Troubles; deplores the hypocrisy of the Irish Government in seeking oversight of UK legacy mechanisms whilst refusing to establish equivalent investigative processes in its own jurisdiction; and calls on His Majesty’s Government to resist Irish interference in legacy arrangements unless and until the Irish Government demonstrates full transparency, establishes credible independent inquiries into cases of alleged collusion, and provides justice for victims and their families.