Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Tánaiste for that. The legacy Bill has been well debated in this House and elsewhere. There is unanimous political opposition on this island to the British Government’s proposals. It is not simply something we oppose but also something that breaches unilaterally an agreement reached between the two Governments and the political parties at Stormont House on dealing with legacy in a human rights-compliant manner. The British Government has reiterated it is planning to rush the Bill through both Houses of Westminster to become law by 26 July. That is a travesty and a perversion of the legal process. The objective is clearly to end citizen’s rights to due legal process with a particular view, from a British perspective, to denying people access to information in cases that led to deaths at the hands of British forces in the North. Considering this breaches an agreement reached between the Irish and British Governments and the political parties in 2014, can we go beyond words in challenging the British Government? Is the Tánaiste’s Department looking at mechanisms whereby this can be challenged more forcefully?

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