Families and representatives of victims of atrocities involving alleged British army and RUC collusion with loyalist terrorists are hoping a Dáil debate on collusion today will mount increased pressure on the British Government to hand over official documents relating to the attacks.
Government and Opposition politicians will deliver statements on the attacks while families of victims listen in the public gallery of Leinster House. Taoiseach Bertie Ahern gave a commitment to hold the debate following recommendations in a 2006 report by an all-party parliamentary inquiry.Up to a dozen shootings and bombings from the 1970s will be discussed for more than four hours during the two Dáil sessions today and tomorrow.Present with survivors and victims' families will be senior members of the Consultative Group on the Past in Northern Ireland, which is led by former Archbishop of Armagh Lord Eames and nationalist mediator Denis Bradley.The Dáil's Justice Committee said in November 2006 that a parliamentary debate was necessary "to highlight the fact that collusion occurred, the facts of its scale and to identify measures to bring closure to the victims".