For the third time in eight years the Dáil has passed an all-party motion calling on the British government to allow an independent judge access to all documents it holds relating to the Dublin and Monaghan bombings.

More than four decades after the May 17th, 1974 bombings, in which 34 people were killed and 300 injured, the Dáil has renewed its appeal for the documents “with the aim of assisting in the resolution of these crimes”.

The Dáil first passed the motion in July 2008, repeated it again in May 2011 and again yesterday.

Members of the campaign group Justice for the Forgotten were in the visitors’ gallery during the debate on the atrocities.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny noted that it was the highest number of casualties of “any single day during the Troubles, with lives blown apart and shattered on that terrible Friday evening”.

Legacy institutions

Mr Kenny stressed the Government’s belief that “the legacy institutions agreed under the Stormont House Agreement offer the best hope of helping the thousands of families impacted by the Troubles”.

He said that if Stormont was to work in practice as it was supposed to work in theory, the files held by the establishment “should be made available. That is where the urgency is in respect of setting up those institutions dealing with the legacy of the past.”

The establishment of a new comprehensive framework for dealing with the past, he said, “is a priority reflected in the programme for government”.

Final agreement has not been reached on legacy issues. However, the Taoiseach said he wanted to put on record for all those who lost loved ones or suffered because of the Troubles that “the Government hears them and is determined to achieve progress on the establishment of the institutions for dealing with the legacy of the past”.