Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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4. To ask the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on Brexit and Northern Ireland will next meet. [49620/23]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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5. To ask the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on Brexit and Northern Ireland will next meet. [49621/23]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 to 6, inclusive, together.

The Cabinet committee on Brexit and Northern Ireland was reconstituted as one of ten Cabinet committees established in January 2023. The Cabinet committee is intended to oversee the implementation of the programme for Government commitments regarding Brexit, Northern Ireland and ongoing related developments. Northern Ireland and related matters are also discussed at meetings of the Government and regularly bilaterally between me and the Tánaiste. It is expected that the next meeting of the Cabinet committee on Brexit and Northern Ireland will take place next week.

Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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I would like to ask about the progress on the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act. As the Taoiseach knows, this legislation will replace current methods of criminal and civil investigations and inquests with inquiries carried out by the new Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery.

It will have the power to offer conditional amnesties. The Act effectively tears up the relevant provisions of the Stormont House Agreement. The Council of Europe has stated the Act breaches human law. Already there are legal actions under way in Belfast to stop the legislation. The Irish Government could take an interstate case against the British Government in the European Court of Human Rights on the basis of the European Convention on Human Rights. Has the Attorney General given his advice on this matter as yet? When will the Government make a decision in this regard?

In addition, former Lord Chief Justice Declan Morgan has been appointed the chief commissioner-designate of the ICRIR. It has already recruited staff and has launched a public survey to develop its operating principles. Has the Irish Government had any engagement with this new body to date given that it has launched a public survey? Obviously we do not agree with the establishment of this body but I wonder whether it has had any communication with the Irish Government.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I also refer to this legislation, and it is absolutely deplorable that the views of the Irish Government and the views of all political parties on this island have been ignored by the British Government. Recent British Governments have not had the joint working relationship, or the close co-operation and long-standing co-operation, that existed in the past between Irish and British Governments, which was critical to the progress made in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

This flawed legislation will deny justice to families bereaved during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. These families, as I have often put on the record of the House, have campaigned over the years with great grace and dignity for the truth to be established. They continue to endure the pain of loss and to express their desire for accountability, justice and truth. It is essential that avenues remain open for this. Unfortunately, the British Government has unilaterally closed down these avenues despite the united opposition of all political parties on this island. We need to continue to record forcefully our opposition to this atrocity amnesty. No one, whether in the IRA, the INLA, the UVF, the UFF, the RUC or the British army, should escape justice from committing heinous crimes. It is very important that Dáil Éireann and the Government continue to send this message out clearly to the British Government.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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The British Government has succeeded in uniting every party on this island in opposition to its so-called legacy Bill. The Bill is not about legacy or in any way endorsed by people on this island. It will be devastating for families and unilaterally close the door on them getting truth and justice. It is contrary to the Stormont House Agreement, which states that processes dealing with the past should be victim centred.

The Bill is also contrary to the spirit of partnership of the Good Friday Agreement, which all parties should seek to foster and not undermine. Sinn Féin has called on the Government to take an interstate case against the British Government to meet our obligations as co-guarantor of these agreements. The Taoiseach has received the advice of the Attorney General on this and has indicated that no decision has yet been made but it is under consideration. Will the Taoiseach indicate in what timeframe the Government will make such a decision?

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Unfortunately we have had continued drift. We do not have the DUP making the determination to join the rest of us to form an Executive. What engagement has the Taoiseach had and where does he see it at this time? Obviously he is dealing with a British Government that has had plenty of change in the past while.

I add my voice to those of everyone else with regard to the legacy Bill. The Taoiseach has the advice from the Attorney General. We are looking for a timeline and to know whether the State is willing to take an interstate case. I have put my view on the record many times that the legacy Bill is about the British Government protecting its own state forces and, beyond this, being able to hide to some degree its history of collusion and assassination.

The Taoiseach has said before, with regard to the possibility of a Border poll and a referendum on a united Ireland, that he is not in favour of a citizens' assembly to look at some of these issues. Has the Taoiseach given any greater consideration to any other possible alternative to doing this piece of necessary work, whereby we could all have the conversation on what a united Ireland could look like?

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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I attended an excellent town hall meeting organised by the North West Migrants Forum at the end of September. It has done very good work on highlighting the reality of the invisible hard border that exists on this island for non-EU nationals. There was another example of the consequences of this in terms of racial profiling on 7 November, when a black passenger was removed from the X4 Derry to Dublin bus while a white passenger with no identification remained on the bus. There are very simple things the Government can do without the agreement of the Tory Government to bring down large elements of this invisible hard border. It can and should state that non-EU visa nationals who have lawful residency in the North should be granted a form of deemed permission to enter the State in the South. It can state that everyone who is lawfully resident on this island can access public services in the South. It can state the time spent living in residency in the North would count towards citizenship requirements. Senator Emer Currie of Fine Gael was present at the town hall meeting. She said she agreed with all of these things. Does the Taoiseach agree with them and will the Government act on them?

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To what extent can the Taoiseach continue to impress upon the authorities in Northern Ireland and the UK the need to resolve on an ongoing basis issues that have arisen from Brexit and that have caused problems for the business, industry and commercial sectors north and south of the Border? What is the extent to which the Taoiseach can continue to impress upon all with whom he meets the necessity to identify and attempt to resolve the issues of contention?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputies Haughey, Smith and others who raised the Northern Ireland Troubles legacy Act. Once again I state the Government believes this is the wrong approach to legacy and reconciliation. It is not supported by any of the major parties in Northern Ireland, which is significant. We have received legal advice from the Attorney General. This is an essential contribution to our consideration on whether to take a case or to support a case taken by a third party. We are studying the advice, considering the next steps and looking at the implications of such a decision. This includes the potential impact on the bilateral relationship, broader political and civic concerns in Northern Ireland about legacy issues, and concerns among victims' groups and families throughout Ireland.

I stress that the initiation of a interstate case would be a significant step and would have to be taken on solid grounds. It is not one we would take lightly. Based on the advice of the Attorney General, there is a period during which we can take a case and after which it would become more difficult. We will have to make a decision on this in the next few weeks.

With regard to the restoration of the institutions, the need for those elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in May 2022 to assume the responsibilities is increasingly urgent. The absence of functioning power-sharing at Stormont affects every part of society in Northern Ireland, from business to civic society and, most acutely now, public services. It also affects the other institutions of the Good Friday Agreement such as the North-South Ministerial Council, which is not meeting, and the British-Irish Council, which is and which will next week, but not with anyone from Northern Ireland present. Next week, I will host the British-Irish Council and the Tánaiste will host the British Irish Intergovernmental Conference in Dublin. This is welcome and it is good to see strand 3 institutions continue to work. We also need meetings of the North-South Ministerial Council to recommence and, more generally, all three strands of the Good Friday Agreement to be fully functioning. This has to be our priority for now.

Models such as a citizens' assembly or a New Ireland Forum-type model, which I would prefer, would be premature at this time and would not help us in the efforts we are making at present to get the institutions up and running.

I certainly do not think, though, that they will be premature forever.

Regarding cross-Border issues, since 2021, the Government has repeatedly raised with the British Government our concerns about ETA proposals. As a result of extensive engagement, UK secondary legislation last March established an ETA exemption for legal residents of Ireland, regardless of citizenship, who do not need a visa to visit the UK. This exemption was welcome. In respect of non-EU citizens, the fact of two jurisdictions means different visa requirements and immigration policies can have impacts on cross-Border working and travel.

Officials in the Department of Justice are monitoring these issues and working with counterparts in Northern Ireland and the UK. Government officials met in October with the North West Migrants Forum and will continue to consider the issues raised by the organisation, including barriers to cross-Border mobility faced by nationals based in Northern Ireland who require visas for Ireland.

Turning to the contribution from Deputy Durkan, I assure him we will continue to work with everyone, including with businesses in Northern Ireland and Britain, the British Government, the parties in Northern Ireland, the civil service there and the European Commission to iron out any issues that arise as a consequence of Brexit and ensure the Windsor Framework is implemented, is implemented properly, and that this is done in a way that works for people North and South.