Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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105. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has concerns about the lack of engagement or leadership shown by the British Government and Unionist political leaders in the current talks, particularly in honouring commitments made in previous agreements, recognising that we are facing into a period of major political challenges in the coming weeks; and if he will agree to urgently call on the British Government to provide a workable and sustainable budget for the Executive in order for it to deliver public services and protect the most vulnerable in society. [36922/15]

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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The question I tabled is now probably dated. I Iistened to the Minister's earlier response to Deputy Brendan Smith's question when he said the talks had entered an intensive stage. There was concern about the lack of engagement. As the Minister knows, there is a crisis in the political institutions in the North which is being facilitated by the failure of the British Government to honour commitments made in previous agreements, the failure of the Unionist political leadership, particularly to face up to loyalist violence, and the British Government's refusal to provide the North with a workable budget. Given the fact that this impacts on the Good Friday Agreement and other agreements, has the Minister discussed this aspect with his British counterparts and urged them to live up to their commitments and provide the North with a workable and sustainable budget?

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Following the request made by the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister, Mr. Cameron, my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Sean Sherlock, and I, together with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Ms Theresa Villiers, facilitated the return of all five main parties in Northern Ireland to round table talks. The talks resumed on 21 September and are still continuing in a constructive atmosphere.

I have worked closely with the Secretary of State in encouraging all parties to continue to engage constructively in the talks process, both in round table format and the various bilateral and trilateral meetings. My current assessment is that the talks have moved to a more intensive phase. There is a good measure of progress in the implementation of the Stormont House Agreement, as well as in dealing with the legacy and impact of paramilitarism. The Stormont House Agreement offers a blueprint for overcoming current difficulties in the Executive, especially in financing, welfare reform and dealing with the legacy of the past.

With regard to the budget, the Agreement contained a commitment of close to £2 billion sterling in additional spending capacity for the Northern Ireland Executive. It also included specific financial commitments by the Irish Government in respect of the A5 road to Derry and the reconciliation work of the International Fund for Ireland. While financing and welfare reform is primarily an issue for the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly, I have continually encouraged the parties to resolve their differences for the sake of Northern Ireland’s economic stability and the sustainability of public services.

The British Government has a key role to play in this area and its engagement will, I hope, continue to recognise the particular circumstances of Northern Ireland as a society still addressing the legacy of conflict.

It is also crucial that the work started by the Stormont House Agreement on establishing institutions to deal with the legacy of the past is completed to ensure justice and truth can bring what healing is possible to victims and survivors of the Troubles and their families.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Sinn Féin is on record as saying it will not be part of the institutions if their function is to implement mass social spending cuts that the Tories in London are dreaming up. We would argue that the Tories have no political mandate in the North.

In recent weeks, we have also seen the British Government attempt to breach the Stormont House Agreement on legacy and victims issues. Last week, a group met with the Good Friday implementation committee on this. The Stormont House Agreement clearly sets out a need to provide justice and truth recovery mechanisms for the families of the victims of the conflict. This needs the Irish and British Governments to pass legislation. The draft legislation put forward by the British Government on dealing with the legacy of the past would allow it to regulate the handover of what it terms “sensitive information” to historical inquiries, however.

We believe this is a clear breach of the Stormont House Agreement. It is a blatant piece of stroke politics designed to hide the British State’s role as an active and central participant in the conflict, in particular its collusion with loyalist death squads, including those who planted the Dublin-Monaghan bombs. Elements of the British security establishment, with a political oversight that ended up in Downing Street, armed, trained, supplied intelligence, directed and controlled many of these death squads. Considering the British Government is failing to meet its legal responsibilities on dealing with the past, will the Minister urgently raise this issue with the British Government and tackle this latest attempt to narrow the options for truth recovery for families, victims and their representatives?

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I am aware the Deputy’s party is represented at the talks and I wish to acknowledge the contribution of Martin McGuinness and his team in that regard.

The current talks process offers an opportunity for all of us, the governments and the political parties, to agree a comprehensive approach which sees us working collectively to achieve a society free from the shadow of paramilitary activity. While significant challenges remain, I am hopeful that with committed collective engagement, we can make real progress in the coming days on the issues raised by Deputy Crowe and others.

We are currently debating the contents of the Stormont House Agreement Bill. I believe that and other areas are moving to a stage where we can, hopefully, be in a position to reach agreement shortly. An agreed outcome would be an important step forward, not just for political parties but for everyone in Northern Ireland. I urge Deputy Crowe and his colleagues to continue their positive engagement.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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I have no doubt we will continue to try to resolve this issue. However, on the legacy issues and the draft legislation put forward by representatives of the British Government, has the Irish Government had any input into that legislation? Is the Minister concerned about this whole area of sensitive security information that the British are putting forward? I know many of the victims’ groups which I have been talking to are certainly concerned about this element of the legislation. Has the Irish Government a view on this legislation proposed by the British Government?

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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As Deputy Crowe rightly points out, the British Government has agreed, at the request of the five Northern Ireland parties, to introduce legislation for the various legacy institutions, as envisaged under the Stormont House Agreement. The Bill will be introduced in the Commons in the coming weeks with a view towards having the institutions established in the course of 2016. However, aspects of the status and functions of the legacy institutions are the subject of discussions among the parties. The outcome of these discussions will have an impact on the final shape of the Bill.

I understand the point raised by the Deputy in so far as there are certain concerns over aspects of the detail of the legislation. I, along with my officials, am following the discussions closely and we are contributing to the facilitation of the parties in overcoming any difficult issues that might arise as regards the setting up of these institutions. It is important that all parties continue to focus on the Stormont House Agreement, the promotion of reconciliation, upholding the rule of law, acknowledging and addressing the suffering of victims and survivors and facilitating the pursuit of justice. In the context of the current talks, it is important that all aspects of the Stormont House Agreement are implemented in the interests of everyone in Northern Ireland.