Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I do not mind. I am open to that, if it is means ten minutes or whatever.

Deputy Brendan Smith and a number of other Deputies raised the issue of the legacy legislation. I remind Deputies that I took the decision as then Minister for Foreign Affairs to refer that legislation to the European Court of Human Rights. To be fair to the new Government in the United Kingdom, it has moved to remove core aspects of the legacy legislation, particularly in respect of immunity. I have discussed this at length with Hilary Benn, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. The Tánaiste, Simon Harris, is now engaging. The core issue relates to the commission having a separate strand in terms of information and investigation. There are other issues as well. Those discussions are ongoing between officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs and officials in the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland's office in respect of whether ICRIR can be reformed in a manner that would win back the confidence of victims' groups. Our officials have engaged with all of the victims' groups. I have met them personally in respect of the issues that have arisen. There has been progress, however - we need to put that on the record - compared with what was in the original Bill tabled by the then Conservative Government. Also, the inquests are restored, and the civil cases in particular. That is progress, but it is not enough. We have to continue to work on it.

More generally on the legacy issue, I watched "Say Nothing" on the Disney Channel. There are a whole lot of issues of bombings, murder and the kidnapping of Jean McConville where there has been no real attempt at closure, no real attempt at reconciliation and no attempt to say what happened was wrong. It was wrong. If you look at the episode on the bombing of the Old Bailey, with 200 innocent British people injured and maimed, what was all that about? We need to deal with legacy in a most comprehensive way. It is striking we have not had a debate on Kenova in this House. There is a comprehensive report. It deals with collusion between the British state and loyalist paramilitaries in the murder of innocent people and, indeed, of others. It also deals with the campaign of the Provisional IRA against its own people, as Kenova describes it, but this House has not even had a debate on that. That is something we should consider in terms of the comprehensive aspect of dealing with legacy because it does matter for future generations that these issues are properly teased out in terms of the use of violence for political ends.

On the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, I am clear that any material we have should be given to any inquiry-----

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