Mattie McGrath: Backs Social Democrats, Demands Commission Extension
Mattie McGrath spoke in support of the Social Democrats' motion, urging an extension of the Commission's term and stronger accountability for survivors. He criticized the government's split response and called for tapes to be retrieved and for Commission members to appear before Oireachtas committees.
Motion and support
McGrath expressed clear backing for the Social Democrats who brought the motion, saying he was perplexed by government actions and by backbench unease. He described a split decision in which the government did not oppose the motion yet also would not extend the Commission's time.
Government response and criticism
He accused the government of fumbling and being feeble and inept in managing the issue, calling the handling a "typical trick-in-a-loop" to keep backbenchers on board. He said the coalition of the three parties supported by some independents was failing survivors by refusing to extend the Commission's term.
Calls for hearings and evidence retrieval
McGrath referenced comments from former retired George Catherine McGuinness that Commission members should have no issue appearing before Oireachtas committees. He noted recent reports that some or all tapes may be retrievable and said they should be recovered and examined.
Survivors, councils and constituency response
He saluted brave victims and pointed to a full meeting in Tip County Council, saying the problem is endemic across counties. He described constituency offices as flooded with mail from people passionately pleading for an extension of the Commission.
Demand for closure and support
McGrath urged tangible support and closure for survivors, stressing that apologies alone do not suffice given the volume of testimony and correspondence. He concluded by reiterating the need for decisive action to address victims' welfare and to resolve outstanding evidence issues.
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I want to support the Social Democrats, especially in bringing this motion forward here today. I'm a bit perplexed and confused with the actions of the government. We know there were rumblings in the back benches about opposing this and some of them were uneasy about it, but now we seem to have got a typical split decision. They're not opposing the motion, but yet they're not extending the time of the Commission. And I was very interested yesterday evening on the radio to hear former retired George Catherine McGuinness explain how the members of the Commission would have no issue, or should have no issue, coming before the Oireachtas Committees. We need to get to the bottom of this for the sanity, for the health and welfare of the victims that are still alive and their families. And I salute the brave victims and who came before Tip Council recently when Tip County Council had a full meeting regarding this issue, because it's in every county and it's endemic in society. And we need to draw a line on those. The teacher coming in here and the second or third teacher coming in and making apologies and be emotional and everything else, that cuts light when we see the volume of mail that we're getting throughout our constituency offices. We could literally find no other mail because we were just flooded with the last number of weeks with a passionate pleas to extend the time of this Commission. What do you mind having a Commission and having testimonies given and didn't say they were destroyed? I note that we're told this week that some of the tapes may be retrieved, or all of them, and that they should be. They should be. And look, there's enough of a trick-in-a-loop going on here. And this is a typical trick-in-a-loop of this ham-fisted, dysfunctional government, the coalition of the three parties that are supported by some independents, to say we won't extend the time in the Commission, but we won't oppose the vote. We had a vote here recently on forestry, which I actually was one of the only people to vote against, and it made things worse, the legislation that they brought in. It hasn't improved one bit, even though the teacher was hedging. I'm not comparing forestry with such a serious issue today, but I'm just saying that we have a feeble government who are inept, and this kind of fumbling and bungling is just not, to keep their backpensers on board, is not good enough. What the survivors need is tangible support and closure in this issue. Go rao maha agood. Go rao maha agood.
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