Peadar Tóibín calls on Leo Varadkar to meet the victims of British/loyalist collusion and their families

Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín TD today asked Leo Varadkar to meet with the families of British state/loyalist violence. Hundreds of people were killed because of British state/loyalist collusion. Two years ago Deputy Tóibín submitted a request to former Taoiseach Enda Kenny to meet with some of the families who are victims of these particular crimes. That meeting never happened.

When Leo Varadkar became Taoiseach, an Teachta Tóibín submitted an official request to the Taoiseach to meet with these families. That meeting has also not happened.

Today Teachta Tóibín asked Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to raise the issue of collusion with the British government and finally meet the affected families.

An Teachta Tóibín stated:

"Last night a BBC Spotlight documentary featured revelations from Laurence Maguire, a convicted member of the notorious Mid-Ulster UVF. Those revelations were in relation to murders in the early 1990s.

"Maguire was at the heart of the killing gang led by Billy Wright and Robin Jackson, who was strongly connected to the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. Maguire confrimed what many have believed for a very long time: that information that set up people for murder by the Mid-Ulster UVF was directly provided to the terror gang by the RUC.

"There is mounting evidence to support the view that the British state was in cahoots with loyalism in fighting not only republicans, but their innocent families and the extended community as well. The truth must be allowed to fully emerge so that the scale of strategic British state collusion can be known.

"Last night's programme also detailed the destruction of evidence taken from murder scenes by the RUC. This is not the first time for such details to be exposed.

"Aontú is calling on the Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael government to explain all the steps that it has taken and that it plans to take to ensure that the full details of collusion between British state forces and loyalist paramilitaries emerge fully.

"Aontú is calling on the Taoiseach to meet with the victims of British state/loyalist violence and their families."

The Irish political system is radically broken

In Ireland the vast majority of elected representatives put a finger in the air to check which way the political wind is blowing. They have one eye on their leaders – seeking brownie points – and another eye keeping their seat safe. If elected reps shut up and do as they’re told, they are promoted; if they stand up for what they believe in, they are demoted. No wonder we have the political class we have. No wonder one point one billion euro is being buried in a hole under the National Children’s Hospital and that Stormont is in stalemate.

Throughout Ireland, many people are now afraid to say what they feel, many are afraid to respectfully engage on a range of different topics. Many feel there is a new censorship and a new political correctness in Ireland, that opposition to the establishment is being deleted.

Respectful opposition is not the enemy. Respectful opposition is a critical element of a functional democracy. Aontú will have the backbone to stand up, without fear, for you.