Rose Conway-Walsh urges repeal of Legacy Act and release of Frank Stagg files
Rose Conway-Walsh spoke in this House about legacy issues, urging repeal of the Legacy Act and demanding access to Frank Stagg's files ahead of his 50th anniversary. She asked the Taoiseach to raise the matter with the British Prime Minister and said there is no justification for files being locked until 2089.
Legacy Act and cross-party agreement
She said there is absolutely cross-party agreement in this House on the necessity to repeal the Legacy Act and urged the Taoiseach to ensure that repeal happens.
Frank Stagg files and 50th anniversary
She raised Frank Stagg's case, noting his 50th anniversary in 2026 and that an academic working on him found his files locked away until 2089. She said she had raised the issue previously with Hilary Binn and asked the Taoiseach to pursue access with the British Prime Minister.
Canova report and comprehensive legacy approach
She criticised the lack of a debate in this House on the Canova report, which she said addresses collusion between the British state and loyalist paramilitaries and campaigns by the provisional IRA against its own people. She argued that a comprehensive approach to legacy is necessary so future generations understand the use of violence for political ends.
Dublin Monaghan, Kingsmills and inquiries
She said any material held by the state should be provided to inquiries, citing past bespoke legislation for Kingsmills and the role of previous Fianna Foy governments in Dublin Monaghan inquiries. She urged her government and the Department of Justice to provide information to the ongoing OMA bombing inquiry.
Summit preparations and wider agenda
She noted a preparatory meeting for a March summit that will be comprehensive, involving a number of ministers and covering issues including the security situation in Europe, Northern Ireland and legacy. She also acknowledged other contributions in the debate, including Deputy Daly's point on the energy market.
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There is absolutely cross-party agreement in this House around the necessity to repeal the Legacy Act so I think you'll be representing us all when you ensure that that happens. The issue I want to raise with you is around Frank Stagg. Frank Stagg's 50th anniversary will be in 2026. You'll know that he was the Mayo hunger striker and recently an academic work is being done on him only to find out that the British have locked away his files in queue until 2089. I have raised this issue with Hilary Binn before and I'd ask you Taoiseach to raise it with the British Prime Minister. There's absolutely no reason whatsoever why the files of Frank Stagg, the hunger striker, should be locked away until 2089. Go raibh magad. In terms of, I would say more generally around the legacy issue, I'm watching Say Nothing on the Disney Channel and there's a whole lot of issues of bombings, murder, kidnapping of Gene McConville, where there's been no real attempt at closure, no real attempt at reconciliation, no attempt to say what happened was wrong. And it was just, if you look at the episode on the bombing of the Old Bailey, 200 innocent British people injured and maimed. Like what was all that about? So I think we do need to deal with legacy in the most comprehensive way. I think it's striking we haven't had a debate on Canova in this house. It's a comprehensive report. It deals with collusion between the state, the British state and loyalist paramilitaries in the murder of innocent people, and indeed of others. But it also deals with the campaign of the provisional IRA in terms of against its own people, as Canova describes it. But this house hasn't even had a debate on that. And that's something we should consider in terms of the comprehensive aspect of dealing with legacy. Because it does matter for future generations that these issues are properly teased out, in terms of the use of violence for political ends. On Dublin Monaghan, I'm very clear that any material we have should be given to any inquiry. Just hear me out, please, a second. It happened, it has happened already, where bespoke legislation was passed in respect of Kingsmills, for example, and where the judge there did pay tribute to the Irish government. I'm clear, and I've been saying to the Minister for Justice and the Minister's predecessor, that in respect of the OMA bombing, again there's an inquiry up and running, that information should be provided by our government and our Department of Justice in particular to that. And just to make the point that on the Dublin Monaghan bombing, it was previous Fianna Foy governments that led the way in terms of inquiries into the Dublin Monaghan bombing, and we know the outcome of the various reports in terms of access to the British files on that. I think others, I don't have time for the other deputies, Deputy Daly raised the energy market, the energy question, and yeah, I think I've, I just want to say, it was, the meeting was a preparatory meeting for the summit, which is happening in March, which will be comprehensive, which will cover a wide range of issues, which will involve a number of ministers, and also obviously the security situation in Europe was discussed, as well as Northern Ireland and legacy. Like, share, and subscribe, and let us know your thoughts in the comments. We'd love to hear from you.
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