Members' Statements – in the Northern Ireland Assembly at 12:45 pm on 16 September 2024.
Diane Dodds
DUP
12:45,
16 September 2024
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Thirty years of terrorism and evil perpetrated by paramilitaries in Northern Ireland have left a shocking legacy of pain and tears. Last week, the Government's actions of granting a public inquiry into only one death and citing the "exceptional" issues in that case perpetuated that legacy. Today, we should think of those for whom there is not the truth or justice that should be the hallmarks of a democratic society. The Government's hypocrisy and double standards were reflected in the actions of the Irish Government when, last week, they welcomed the inquiry into one evil act but did not acknowledge the collusion between the Provisional IRA and the gardaí.
I make no apology for again raising the case of Ian Sproule. He was a young loyalist from Killen, near Castlederg. He was 23 years of age when, on 13 April 1991, gunmen lay waiting for him. They fired 41 bullets into his car. Shortly after that, his father received a phone call from the Provisional IRA telling him to go out to the yard and see the mess that they had left for him — it was his son. There are significant reasons to believe that the gardaí officers in Donegal passed erroneous information on Ian Sproule to the Provisional IRA. I have been involved with the case for many years. Along with John Sproule, I met the Irish Government in relation to the case, and there has been a blank refusal to carry out an investigation. The Irish Government should come off the fence —
Edwin Poots
DUP
The Member's time is up.
Diane Dodds
DUP
— and stop the double-talk and the gaslighting of innocent victims in Northern Ireland.
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