Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senators for the way in which this debate has proceeded. It is appropriate in some ways that members of a family directly involved in this issue are present in the Visitors Gallery. The commentary has been respectful and dignified, which is what we are trying to achieve in this political and cross-community discussion on how we deal with the real challenges of reconciliation which, to be honest, are generational challenges. They will not be not met overnight. We need to ensure that the language used in this House and by the Government is balanced and that the examples we use and the victims' families with whom we choose to engage are similarly balanced.

I have had the privilege of meeting families impacted by Bloody Sunday, Ballymurphy and the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, as well as the family of Pat Finucane. Today, I had the privilege of meeting the family of Patsy Kelly. I have also met families affected by the Kingsmill massacre, many of whom do not see me as somebody who wants to help to solve their problem. I have spoken to many unionist families who are deeply concerned by how people who were heavily involved in the Troubles are still commemorated and the language that is used around those commemorations. If we are serious about resolving this issue - and I certainly am - we must bear that in mind. The most important thing in my political career is the impact I hope I can have on Northern Ireland in my current position.

However, we need to try to use different language when we speak to each other because, otherwise, it will remain tribal and identity-based, whereby community members console each other regarding the pain, frustration, anger and sense of injustice that is clearly very strong and genuine within those communities, but that does not reach out across communities. That is very difficult politically. When I speak to unionist or nationalist and republican leaders, I get a deep sense of the obligation they feel to represent the concerns and injustices that apply to many in their communities. When they are set up, the real test of the structures agreed at Stormont House - the historical investigations unit, the independent commission for information retrieval, the oral history archive and the implementation and reconciliation group - will be how communities start talking to each other and how, in time, families can, it is hoped, start relating to each other. That has been evident in some of the work done by victims groups and the ombudsman. However, political parties need to try to also move into that space and think about how the messages they give and reinforce on a weekly and monthly basis are heard by other communities. I do not wish for this to sound like a lecture because it is not meant to be such. The language I use is as important as that used by leaders within communities in political parties.

The Government approach on this issue is as I earlier outlined; it must be equal for everybody. Where possible, we need truth and justice for everybody, regardless of who they are, their background, whether uniforms were worn or in what their families or relations were involved in the past. If we are serious about reconciliation and allowing Northern Ireland to move forward, first and foremost, people have a right to know what happened. As was mentioned, in some cases it will not be possible to secure convictions. However, even in the absence of formal convictions, possibly due to insufficiently strong evidence to secure a conviction, truth is part of the reconciliation process that we need to achieve.

I am deeply committed to this process and will work with the British Government. I will ensure the Irish Government plays its part in terms of the legislation to which we have committed. I am very conscious of the commitments I made to the Kingsmill families regarding legislation which we committed to passing and which will come through this House, as I am very conscious of the commitments I made to the Ballymurphy families and others in terms of supporting comprehensive inquests and structures that can, over time, provide truth, with the funding mechanisms to ensure that happens.The British Government is committed to that also. I have to say, because it is the truth, that passing legislation on legacy through Westminster is currently complicated and difficult. In some ways, the debate is somewhat one-sided. That poses major dangers and creates genuine concerns, among nationalist communities in particular, because of the lack of a voice to create balance in the debate in Westminster. I am not getting into the issues of taking up seats in Westminster and so on; that is a totally different debate. I accept the perspectives of different people on it. Whatever way one describes it, however, there is not a balanced debate on this issue and, therefore, the Secretary of State faces genuine challenges in ensuring legislation that is fully balanced and fair and takes into account all sides equally. She is committed to achieving that. She knows she made a real mistake but she wants to move on from that and reassure people that she can achieve what is required in a way that is balanced and fair. I have had long conversations with her about that. As I stated before, Ms Karen Bradley is a good person and I can and will work with her.

I reassure all parties in this House that the Government's perspective, which I outlined, is very clear and will be argued very strongly. If the legislation moves in the wrong direction, we will call that out. We have an obligation to do so. We will continue to work with the British Government where we can on other outstanding issues, such as the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, and we will do what we need to do here to try to reassure families who may regard the Irish Government as an entity that has questions to answer in regard to cross-Border co-operation, potential collusion and so on so that we can ensure that we can contribute to the inquests taking place on a cross-Border basis and a cross-jurisdictional basis. This is very difficult to do internationally and there is not much precedent for it but that is what we are doing through the legislation, which would effectively allow a member of An Garda Síochána to give evidence to an inquest taking place in Belfast through a court system in Dublin. We are passing legislation to facilitate that in an effort to be fully transparent and in the spirit of co-operation to try to establish the truth for everybody.

I look forward to working with this House on this issue in future debates. There is a range of other points I could make on Northern Ireland, the need for political leadership on reconciliation, and the re-establishment of devolved institutions. It is very hard for the Good Friday Agreement structures to work without those institutions functioning, without North–South ministerial councils functioning, and without political direction for North–South bodies. All of this is creating stagnation in Northern Ireland at best, and polarisation at worst. We have got to change that together.

As has been said, there will be differences of opinion on certain issues and we will call each other out at different times when we believe stupid things have been said. Ultimately, however, we have got to work together across all parties to try to provide a basis for agreement that can start to create positive momentum in Northern Ireland again. It has been absent for far too long. Northern Ireland and the rest of the island of Ireland are in far too vulnerable a place in the context of decisions that are being taken for us not to do what I describe.

Once again, I thank the Kelly family for being here today and for helping to create a better understanding of its own case, experiences, frustrations and tragedies. I hope that, by working together in this House and in the Dáil, and by working with the British Government, we can ensure the legacy structures that are so badly needed for so many families can be put into operation quickly so more people will not pass away without obtaining the truth and justice in respect of the past.