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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 82 and 109 together.

I met with the Secretary of State most recently on 2 November and the progress of the UK's Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill was one of the topics discussed.  In all of our discussions, I have been frank in my view that this Bill, as it stands, is not fit for purpose. It represents a clear move away from the Stormont House Agreement.  There is near universal opposition to this Bill in Northern Ireland, including from the five main political parties, those representing victims, their families and survivors, as well as a wide range of other groups. The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission has expressed serious concern about the Bill, as has the UK Parliament’s own joint committee on human rights. The Government has serious doubts about whether this Bill is compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights.  We have raised our profound concerns about this Bill directly with British Government, at official and political level, and in the relevant multilateral fora, including the Council of Europe and, most recently, at the universal periodic review of the UK by the UN Human Rights Council.

Chief among those concerns is that the Bill provides for the granting of immunity by the proposed independent commission for reconciliation and information recovery for gross violations of human rights and the remarkably low threshold for the granting of this immunity.  The proposed immunity has profoundly upset families, with many believing that this legislation would protect the perpetrators and deny victims a path to truth and justice, particularly where evidence may exist. The Bill provides for the proposed "independent commission" to conduct "reviews" rather than investigations of legacy cases. The status of these reviews, the significant powers invested in the commission and the chief commissioner, and the role of the Secretary of State raise questions of independence. All remain matters of serious concern. Under the proposed legislation, all criminal investigations and inquests that are not at an advanced stage and civil actions would cease.

The Government will remain fully engaged on this issue. I have discussed the matter with political parties in Northern Ireland and in my recent engagements with senior US politicians in Washington DC. I also recently met with the Northern Ireland Commission for Victims and Survivors and members of the Victims and Survivors Forum. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has indicated that he is open to addressing concerns raised about the Bill and to increased engagement with all stakeholders. It was agreed at the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference in October that officials would meet and discuss the main elements of concern. However, I have been clear that any amendments would need to be radical and fundamentally change the substance of this Bill for it to address our concerns.

The Government is aware of calls for consideration of the initiation of an inter-state case against the United Kingdom before the European Court of Human Rights in relation to this legislation. Any future examination by the European Court of Human Rights as to whether this Bill, if enacted, is compliant with the United Kingdom’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights will depend on the precise terms of the legislation as enacted and the factual circumstances pertaining at the time. In this light, a decision as to the referral of an inter-state case to the court by Ireland concerning the Bill, which remains subject to amendment, is, in the Government’s assessment, premature. However, the Government continues to keep this matter under review. The Government’s approach to legacy and reconciliation has always been that it should be a victim-centred approach, taking the Stormont House Agreement as its starting point. This is a process that was agreed by both Governments, and most political parties in Northern Ireland, with the support of victims' and survivors' groups.

I have had a constructive discussion with the new Secretary of State on this issue. I do not know whether it will be possible for us to come to an agreement on amending and changing this legislation fundamentally. On an issue as sensitive as legacy, given the trauma and pain that it is linked to for so many thousands of families, this is something the two Governments, working with parties in Northern Ireland and with victims' groups, should try to agree a common approach on. Unilateral action and moving ahead without the support of virtually anybody is a real mistake by the British Government, if it chooses to do it. I welcome the conversations I have had with the Secretary of State, Chris Heaton-Harris, who has shown a willingness to look at possible change. I hope that will be possible.

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