Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. He is right to remember and recall the 700 people who were killed by the British Army in Northern Ireland and, indeed, those who were killed by loyalist terrorists. However, I want to be very clear; legacy should not be seen as a sectarian issue, because it is not one. It should not be couched in the terms of orange and green, or unionist versus nationalist. Let us not forget that nearly 3,000 people were killed by republican terrorists in Northern Ireland. I refer to the actions of the IRA and the INLA. I include in that the last Member of the Oireachtas to be killed, the late Senator Billy Fox, who was a member of my party. That is why unionists and unionist parties are also against the legacy Act. They do not believe these people should be allowed off the hook. They believe that if war crimes were committed in Northern Ireland or in this State, they should be prosecuted and those criminals should be punished, not honoured.

In relation to the legacy Act, we will make a decision on this before the deadline in mid-January. The Government and all the main parties in Northern Ireland, victims and their representatives, church leaders and civic society have been consistently opposed to the legislation since it was first introduced. We are aware that many have called on us to initiate an inter-state case before the European Court of Human Rights in relation to the Northern Ireland legacy Act. The Government has received detailed and comprehensive legal advice from the Attorney General. This is an essential contribution to our consideration of the next steps. We are fully aware that the initiation of an interstate case would be a significant step that would have to be done on solid grounds. The Government is fully aware of the relevant timelines the Deputy has mentioned and of the fact that we need to take a timely decision on this matter before this House resumes sitting in the new year. We will continue to be guided by the best interests of victims and their families.

It has been suggested that there is no alternative to the legacy Act. However, this ignores the 2014 Stormont House Agreement, which would have established a legacy framework that was supported by the Irish and British Governments, the main parties in Northern Ireland - with the exception of one - and civil society. In contrast, the legacy Act was introduced without meaningful consultation with those most affected, namely, the victims, civil society and the Northern Ireland parties. In addition, there was no genuine engagement with the Irish Government. This is very much out of keeping with the spirit of partnership that we believe underpins the Good Friday Agreement.

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