Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister's declaration. I think the Bill is unwelcome and a clear contravention of the Stormont House Agreement. It is extremely worrying that Tory and DUP MPs, and even some Labour Party MPs, want to apply a statute of limitations to crimes committed by the British military during the conflict in Ireland, including collusion with unionist death squads, the killing of non-combatants in incidents like the Ballymurphy massacre and the Miami Showband murders and involvement in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. These are just some of the many actions masterminded or aided by British intelligence. During the Stormont House talks, the DUP was adamant that there would be no amnesties. The final agreement clearly ruled out any amnesties and instead provided for a range of mechanisms to deal with the past. I do not know whether the tabling of this Bill was a solo run but it reinforces the idea that there is a hierarchy of victims. I do not know what the Minister's views are on the wider implications of this type of Bill, including its impact on victims and on society. Is the Minister concerned about the direction in which this type of legislation would bring us?

See this speech in context