An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-20
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Tom Clonan (IND), University of Dublin

Yes, the British security services were involved in the bombings in Dublin and Monaghan. In the same way the families of Omagh bombing victims would like to know who was responsible and what was known here in the Republic, I, as a Dublin person, and, I am sure, many in this Chamber would like to know who killed the 300 people who died as a result of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings and what level of knowledge did the security services here have. What makes us different?
When I made the statement last night, the Minister of State who was deputising for the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, said that if I had concerns about how An Garda Síochána conducted its role during the Troubles, I should contact it to report them. That is nonsense. We are the only jurisdiction in the European Union with no parliamentary oversight over our intelligence agency, which is to say, An Garda Síochána. I have asked about this over and over. It is a matter for an Taoiseach to come in here and explain. We need to have a debate on why our Joint Committee on Defence and National Security has no oversight of defence and national security issues, particularly in the context of the largest atrocity carried out during the Troubles. What role did we play in that?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-20/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:58+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-20