The murders of 14 people on Bloody Sunday in Derry on 30 January 1972, of Sinn Féin Councilor Eddie Fullerton in Buncrana on 25 May 1991, of four people in Castlerock on 25 March 1993 and of eight people in Greysteel on 30 October 1993 , were among the atrocities discussed during a legacy debate in the Oireachtas on Wednesday.

The TDs discussed the recent Operation Greenwich report by Police Ombudsman Marie Anderson which identified ‘collusive behaviour’ and raised significant concerns about the conduct of the RUC in relation to loyalist killings in Greysteel and Castlerock and the murder of Colr. Fullerton.

Simon Coveney, the Foreign Secretary, said: “Whether we are talking about the victims of Bloody Sunday, Kingsmill, the Dublin-Monaghan bombings, the Birmingham or Omagh bombings, the attack on the Sean Graham bookmakers or other incidents covered in these reports, we owe these families – all families – more than just our outrage.

“We owe them our support and our determined efforts to move forward in establishing a real process of truth and justice for their loved ones.”

Opposition Leader Mary Lou McDonald said: “For the Ballymurphy and Bloody Sunday families, and for all those close to those whose murders are detailed in the Police Ombudsman’s reports, there has been years of suffering, pain and searing anger.

“There have been years of sleepless nights, punctuated by that thud and thump that only such injustice can summon.

Regarding the UK government’s plans, she added that there was “no support for their amnesty plan here or internationally, and we stand with the families who are demanding justice”.

Paul Murphy, of People Before Profit/Solidarity TD, said: “There is an important political point here where the British establishment likes to paint the conflict in the North as a war between two tribes where their army becomes, supposedly, naughty in the middle. .

“Bloody Sunday was born out of a cold-blooded decision by the British establishment to suppress a mass civil rights movement. Properly, everyone agrees there should be no immunity.”

The Inishowen TD Pádraig Mac Lochlainn, makes specific reference to the Eddie Fullerton case and makes reference in Operation Greenwich to two former UDR members who were suspects in a number of North West UDA/UFF attacks .

“When I last spoke on this subject, I urged the minister and ministry officials to seriously consider the Operation Greenwich report and referred to the shocking case of ‘Person K’ He was a key suspect in 17 murders and seven attempted murders.

“The Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman’s Report states that in 2016 the lead investigator for Operation Greenwich passed a case file relating to Person K to the PSNI. Six years later we do not know where in is this investigation.”

He also spoke of ‘Person J'” who is also covered in this report, was an active member of the UDR when he was a key suspect in the murder of Gerard Casey in 1989. In early 1991 the RUC found documents on many of the Republicans in Person J’s home. He was released on bail shortly thereafter. While out on bail, he was a key suspect in two murders, that of the adviser Eddie Fullerton and Tommy Donaghy, who was a member of Sinn Féin.”

Fianna Fáil TD Seán Haughey said: “Once again the Ombudsman has identified collusive behavior and raised major concerns about police conduct. The report examined the murder of Councilor Eddie Fullerton in County Donegal in May 1991, as well as the murder of four people in Castlerock in March 1993 and the shooting attack that killed eight people in Greysteel in October 1993.

“I remember meeting Councilor Eddie Fullerton in the late 1980s during my Seanad campaign. I have to say he was very hospitable to me when I called him. His killing was quite shocking to me, as it undoubtedly was to his family, and all who knew him. January’s report is disturbing reading. The ombudsman deserves to be commended for his work.

“On February 1, we had a debate to mark the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. On January 30, 1972, soldiers from the 1st Battalion of the Parachute Regiment opened fire on innocent civilians, killing 13 people. As we know , the families of those murdered have been campaigning for justice ever since.”

Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín said: “We know there is no British justice in Ireland. There is no British rule of law in Ireland. If there is a British amnesty, the perpetrators of these actions will simply get away with murder.

“Why did these secret killings happen? It was simply because of the international backlash against Britain after what happened on Bloody Sunday. The British military knew they could no longer stand get away with killing nationalists live on television. She knew she would have to do it covertly and use loyalist proxies to do it,” he claimed.

Fine Gael TD Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said: “The most striking thing for me in the report is, as always, the story of the people and how painful it is in the case of Patrick McErlain, Daniel Cassidy, Bernard O ‘Hagan, Thomas Donaghy, Patrick Shanaghan, Eddie Fullerton and Gerald Casey that there have been no prosecutions to date. The stories that are told about them add to our analysis and the honesty that we need about the past.

As Deputy Minister Coveney said: “Whether we are talking about the victims of Bloody Sunday, Kingsmill, the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, Birmingham, Omagh, the attack on bookmaker Sean Graham, Shankill Road , Pat Finucane or Edgar Graham, each family has been affected and suffered a loss equally. Every family deserves to be treated equally. No one is above the law and every murder should be treated equally by law.

Thomas Pringle, the independent Donegal TD, said: “There is no doubt that the police ombudsman’s report is damning. The report confirms in black and white that the RUC worked with informants who were part of loyalist paramilitary groups, who targeted individuals such as Eddie Fullerton were not warned of the threat to their lives and that more than 80 people were murdered by imported loyalist weapons in an arms shipment known to the RUC.

“While the report proves what we already know, it is an important step in acknowledging and vindicating the concerns of the families of the victims and an important step in continuing the peace process in the North.”

Minister Coveney said: “We can only move forward on this issue collectively and we can only accept an approach based on the fundamental principles of truth, justice and the rule of law. It is certainly not not asking too much.

“As I am sure we all experience when we read the reports of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, or when we meet victims from across the community who have suffered such loss, reflected in the month last on the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, feelings of injustice and injustice are powerful.The case for a process to address this sense of injustice, through a thorough investigation and, if possible, prosecutions, are clear.