Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will set a context for the meeting and put on the record some of the issues the Government is trying to address at present. I thank the committee for the invitation to meet and look forward to our discussion and to continuing to engage with the committee on the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process, which I think we would all agree is at a critical phase. I know that the committee is focusing on legacy issues in its public hearings at present, and that is very timely. The Government continues to work for a definitive move forward soon with the implementation of the Stormont House Agreement framework to address the legacy of the Troubles.

However, before getting into the Government's engagement on legacy, I wish to take a moment to consider the overall political picture in the North, which of course concerns the Good Friday Agreement and this committee directly. We can all see that the situation is very serious. The devolved institutions which are at the heart of the Good Friday Agreement, providing for power-sharing representative government in Northern Ireland, have not been operating for the past eight months. The Government is a co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, working with the British Government, and we have spared no effort in supporting and facilitating talks on the formation of a new Executive since the Assembly election in March. However, devolved power-sharing government can only operate on the basis of an agreement reached initially between the two largest parties. The other parties represented in the Assembly have shown considerable patience and have a critical role to play, but we must find a way of moving forward between Sinn Féin and the DUP in order for this to work. I am disappointed that, after several phases of negotiations in different formats, we still do not have an agreement to form an Executive. The issues under discussion, particularly those of language and culture, go to the heart of the divisions in society in Northern Ireland, and agreement on them was always going to be challenging. However, I have always believed that it remains possible to reach an agreed outcome which ensures implementation of previous agreements and reflects the core principles of the Good Friday Agreement and power-sharing itself: partnership, equality and mutual respect. It remains my conviction that this is still achievable. I assure the committee that the Government remains determined, as a co-guarantor of the agreement, to secure the effective operation of all its institutions. The Taoiseach and I continue to engage with the British Government and the parties in Northern Ireland to give full effect to that commitment.

Of course, Brexit is a further cross-cutting issue with which we must all contend, not least in respect of the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process. I wish to acknowledge the work of the committee in producing its two reports on the impact of Brexit on the agreement. I was glad to be here in June for the launch of the committee's first report and have also taken note of the report prepared by Senator Mark Daly and published by the committee in August. Upholding the letter and spirit of the Good Friday Agreement and preserving the gains and benefits of the peace process are of the highest priority for the Government as we participate in the EU-UK negotiations as a committed EU member state. We are at a critical moment in the Article 50 process, and our EU partners are fully aware and supportive of the importance of protecting the gains and benefits of the peace process founded on the Good Friday Agreement. The requirements for protecting the Good Friday Agreement that were set out in the EU's Guiding Principles for the Dialogue on Ireland/Northern Ireland, published in September, are consistent with the Government's objectives and our responsibilities as co-guarantor of the agreement. We continue to work closely with the Commission task force on the Ireland-specific issues, including ensuring the agreement in all its parts is protected. It is probably worth noting that we speak to the EU task force, the Barnier task force, virtually every day and have very strong solidarity on that task force. Michel Barnier himself has really taken the time to understand the detail of the Irish issues, and we are lucky to have him.

The next few weeks are a critical phase for the EU-UK negotiations. There remains much to do before the European Council summit in December. That summit will decide on whether these negotiations can move on to what is called phase 2, which will concern the future relationship between the EU and the UK. However, to get there, we need to make sufficient progress on the phase 1 issues, which include many issues related to the Good Friday Agreement and the Border as well as the common travel area, CTA. The Government continues to seek progress on all of these Ireland-specific issues, including the Border and protecting the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts, as part of our wish to see sufficient progress achieved across the three phase 1 issues. I hope this can be reached in December, but it is by no means predetermined. While we deal with what is the generational challenge of Brexit for the island of Ireland, it is essential that our attention and our efforts remain also on progressing all aspects of our own peace process.

The uncertainties that Brexit has raised has made all the more evident the imperative of continuing to strive to achieve genuine reconciliation both between communities and at a deeper societal level in the North and both parts of the island.

One of the fundamental commitments made by the parties to the Good Friday Agreement is "to strive in every practical way toward reconciliation" within the framework of the agreement. I am proud that as part of the Government's contribution, my Department continues to work towards that objective by providing support through the reconciliation fund to groups, three of which I met yesterday in west Belfast, and organisations working to further reconciliation at community level. I know the committee has engaged with many of these groups and I look forward to following its engagement on reconciliation matters as part of our collective responsibility as supporters of the agreement to support healing and reconciliation for all communities.

An essential element for achieving a genuinely reconciled society in Northern Ireland is dealing with the difficult and painful legacy of the past. I would like to conclude my remarks with a focus on how we can and must, do that in the period ahead. It is high time to make good on the commitments that have been made to victims and survivors and to meet their legitimate needs and expectations through the implementation of the Stormont House Agreement legacy framework. Dealing with legacy issues in a comprehensive way will make an important contribution to building confidence that the peace process founded on the Good Friday Agreement can continue what needs to be no less than a transformative process of societal change and healing after the destruction and pain of the Troubles.

The system in Northern Ireland at present is simply not equipped to deal with the past. The needs and indeed the rights of victims and survivors are not being met. All deaths must be effectively investigated consistent with the requirements of the European Convention of Human Rights. Victims' needs and broader societal issues arising from the legacy of the past must also be addressed through these structures.

The police, the courts and the political system in Northern Ireland should be unencumbered from dealing with the past and allowed to focus on the here and now, and the future.

During the past few months the urgent need to address the legacy of the past has been emphasised to me through my engagement with families who are simply seeking to establish the truth of what happened to their loved ones. I had the privilege yesterday of meeting the families of some of those killed in Ballymurphy in 1971. I acknowledge their tireless efforts in campaigning for an inquest which will now go ahead in September 2018. I hope that this inquest will finally provide the families with the answers that they are seeking. I have recently met also with the families of the victims of the appalling Kingsmill massacre and assured them of the Irish Government's continued commitment to full co-operation in accordance with the law with the Kingsmill inquest. Let me outline what we are doing at a legislative level to back up the statements I am making today. This week we approved in Cabinets the heads of a Bill that will allow for the first time for evidence to be heard in Dublin on an inquest that is going on in Northern Ireland. From a legal perspective, it is complicated to have evidence being heard for an inquest that is being held in a different legal jurisdiction. We will be legislating to allow a system whereby a Garda can give evidence in the High Court in Dublin for an inquest that a coroner is undertaking north of the Border. I think that is one of a number of things the Government is doing to ensure that we are fully co-operating with assisting the process of establishing the truth and the facts in the context of the many inquests that will take place in the next number of years.

There are many other victims' families that are still seeking truth and justice, often decades after their loss. The Stormont House Agreement provides for dedicated institutions to deal with issues arising from the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland in a comprehensive way.

Last week, I discussed the urgent need to move forward with these institutions with Ms Judith Thompson, the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Victims and Survivors. Let me assure the committee that progress in this regard is a priority for the Government. I look forward to meeting other victims and survivors, from both communities and all regions in the period ahead. I was particularly impressed by Ms Thompson. Both Governments, but also political parties in Northern Ireland have a real obligation to help her do the job that she has taken on, which will be a very difficult and challenging one. She strikes me as the right person for the job.

It is worth reflecting for a moment what the comprehensive approach contained in the Stormount House Agreement will entail and particularly how it can serve the needs of victims and survivors. The historical investigations unit will take forward outstanding investigations into Troubles-related deaths in Northern Ireland. The Independent Commission for Information Retrieval will enable victims and survivors to seek and privately receive information about the Troubles related deaths of their next of kin. The oral history archive will provide a central place for people from all backgrounds and from right across these islands to share their experiences and narratives related to the Troubles. The implementation and reconciliation group is also essential and it will oversee themes, archives and information recovery. Dealing with the legacy of the past also requires moving forward with outstanding legacy inquests. The backlog of inquests with families who have waited for decades being asked to wait even longer, shows that the current system is patently not working. The Government has been clear in its support for the proposals made by the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland to allow inquests to now be held in a reasonable period of time and secure for families a record of what happened that caused their loss. It is essential that this is urgently progressed and the Government will continue to seek that in terms of funding and resources that are needed.

In addition, victims, survivors and their families also, of course, need and deserve support as they deal with investigations and other legacy processes. The Stormont House Agreement provides for services, such as the mental trauma service, a system of counsellors and a pension for the severely injured, which are to be taken forward by the devolved administration, if and when we can get it up and running. These elements must be delivered in the period ahead, and it is one further reason that the Executive and the Assembly must urgently operate again.

As the committee will be aware, there was important progress in the discussions at Stormont Castle earlier this year on taking forward the Stormont House legacy framework.

I am hopeful and determined that further progress will be achieved in the period ahead. A public consultation on the draft UK Bill is envisaged and the preparation of legislation to implement the Stormont House framework in this jurisdiction is also being advanced.

This week the Government approved a general scheme for an international co-operation Bill 2017, which the Minister for Justice and Equality is publishing. He is advancing further drafting of the Bill as a priority. The Bill which the Minister, Deputy Flanagan will bring forward will importantly facilitate the taking of evidence from members of An Garda Síochána in inquests in Northern Ireland. It will also facilitate co-operation by the Garda authorities with the non-criminal investigations of the HIU and the Ombudsman in Northern Ireland. This Bill is an innovation in justice co-operation and a demonstration of the Government's commitment to address the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland through the establishment of the Stormont House Agreement framework.

Drafting of a further Bill is also advancing between the Department of Justice and Equality and my Department to establish in law the Independent Commission for Information Retrieval, further to the international agreement that was concluded between Ireland and the UK in 2015. The Government intends to bring forward the legislation in the period ahead.

Our legislative preparations are well advanced, reflecting the political priority the Government attaches to the Stormont House Agreement legacy framework

The Government will continue to engage with the British Government and the political parties to seek an urgent and definitive move forward on legacy issues by establishing the Stormont House framework in a manner that will meet the legitimate needs and expectations of all victims and survivors and contribute to broader societal reconciliation as an integral part of the peace process.

I believe this can be achieved, and I strongly welcome the committee’s continuing engagement on legacy issues, which are of such importance for our shared island and for the peace process founded on the Good Friday Agreement.

I am sure that members will have plenty of questions on these issues. I look forward to, hopefully, providing complete answers for the committee.