Mr. Francie Molloy:

I thank the Minister for his presentation, which at this point in time is important especially in dealing with legacy issues. It has emerged this week that the British Government intends to include the statute of limitations covering the Troubles and in particular the British crown forces. This involves a new section being inserted into the Northern Ireland (Stormont House Agreement) Bill. Despite all the negotiations that have happened over the last ten months this had not been raised or proposed at that stage by the British Government. I understand that the Irish Government was not involved and had not been told. The Sinn Féin Party had not been told and we see this as very bad faith with regard to the negotiations. The families and victims across the board have major concerns about how long it is taking to have their issues dealt with. To add this element at this time, when people are looking for justice on the back of issues around Government forces and their actions, means we need to move to clarify that situation. My main question around legacy issues is what is the position of the Irish Government on it and what does the Government hope to do in respect of negotiations with the British Government on the issue of the statute of limitations.