The Irish government has said it is committed to pursuing British files on the Dublin-Monaghan bombings.

:::u.tv:::
17 May 2016

Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan reiterated the government’s intent ahead of attending the memorial service in Dublin to mark the 42nd anniversary of the atrocity on Tuesday.

Thirty-four people including an unborn baby were killed and 300 others injured when three car bombs in Dublin city centre and another in Monaghan town exploded on 17 May 1974.

To date no one has ever been prosecuted over the attacks, which the UVF claimed responsibility for in 1993.

Minister Flanagan said: "The Government has worked consistently to implement the all-party Dáil motions which call on the British Government to allow access by an independent international judicial figure to all original documents in their possession relating to the Dublin-Monaghan bombings.

“The Government will continue to actively pursue this objective, and we have made it a commitment in the new Programme for Government.”

Minister Flanagan also attended the wreath-laying ceremony at the Dublin-Monaghan bombings memorial, which is being organised by campaign group Justice for the Forgotten.

They have been calling for an investigation into alleged British state collusion into the massacre and are pursuing access to classified files in relation to the bombings.

@CharlieFlanagan today laid wreath to the memory of those killed in Dublin & Monaghan bombings on this day in 1974 pic.twitter.com/VYzgqMo4xL
— IrishForeignMinistry(@dfatirl) May 17, 2016

Mr Flanagan said the Irish Government was also determined to get agreement with Northern Ireland politicians on how to deal with legacy issues from the Troubles.

“I will be working hard to see these institutions established, for the benefit of all victims and survivors and for our society as a whole,” he added.

“Such an agreement would, in some respects, help to further honour the memory of those 33 men and women who died on the streets of Dublin and Monaghan 42 years ago today and whose families still grieve their loss.”

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams also called for the classified documents to be opened.

"It is vital that the new Government lives up to the need to ensure the utmost pressure is put on the British administration to release their files," he said.

In Talbot St @ 42 Anniversary Commemoration of Dublin Monaghan bombings. pic.twitter.com/eigE6T3oa7
— Gerry Adams (@GerryAdamsSF) May 17, 2016