Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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717. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the position regarding the status of the Stormont House Agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21860/15]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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718. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the position regarding the review and monitoring meeting of the Irish and British Governments in relation to the Stormont House Agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22960/15]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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719. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the actions that will be taken following the review and monitoring meeting held on 2 June 2015 regarding the Stormont House Agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22961/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 717 to 719, inclusive, together.

The full implementation of the Stormont House Agreement remains a priority of this Government and continues to be a key focus in contacts with the Northern Ireland Executive and with the British Government. The Taoiseach and Prime Minister Cameron discussed implementation of the Agreement at their meeting in London on 18 June, underlining the collective benefit of full implementation.

To continue to take forward this work, I represented the Government at the Implementation and Review meetings of the Stormont House Agreement in Belfast on 2 June and again on 25 June. A major focus of the 2 June meeting was the failure the previous week of the Welfare Bill to secure approval in the Northern Ireland Assembly, the potential consequent budgetary implications of this and its potential impact on the prospects for implementing the totality of the Stormont House Agreement. In the period since this meeting took place, a Budget Bill was agreed by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The 25 June meeting was an important opportunity to take stock of progress, including in the context of the ongoing political impasse in relation to welfare reform and wider budgetary issues. The meeting considered and approved for publication a progress report which outlines overall implementation of the Agreement, including work towards establishing new mechanisms to deal with the legacy of the past. In addition to the new mechanisms, the Northern Ireland Executive has undertaken to take appropriate steps to improve the way the legacy inquest function is conducted to comply with ECHR Article 2 requirements.

While good progress has been made across many of the Agreement’s work streams, a way forward needs to be found in relation to the ongoing impasse on welfare reform and wider budgetary issues. There is currently a limited window of opportunity to resolve these issues. It is essential that the political leaders in Northern Ireland face up to their responsibility to find a sustainable resolution to the issues at hand, and intensify their efforts on delivering the Agreement as a whole. The Irish Government will continue to support this collective effort.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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720. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he or his Department officials are concerned regarding the allegations made in a recent programme (details supplied) broadcast by the British Broadcasting Corporation on alleged British state-linked murders during the troubles in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22958/15]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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721. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will be asking the British Prime Minister, Mr. David Cameron, to agree to a full independent investigation into the scale of the policy where the police, army, and MI5, worked with illegal paramilitary groups, resulting in the deaths of persons during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, as reported in a British Broadcasting Corporation's programme (details supplied) in May 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22959/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 720 and 721 together.

It is a matter of public record that collusion occurred during the Troubles between British State forces and paramilitaries. Successive Irish Governments, in our ongoing bilateral relations and through the European Court of Human Rights at Strasbourg, have raised the issue of collusion with the British Government.

We continue to do so, including in relation to a number of individual cases of long-standing concern such as the Dublin and Monaghan bombings and the case of the late Pat Finucane. In particular, we advocate that all relevant documentation be made available to be examined by the appropriate mechanisms. Such cases must be adequately addressed if we are to achieve a genuinely reconciled society.

Many families, including those bereaved by incidents in which collusion has been alleged, continue to deal not only with the awful pain of losing a loved one, but with the struggle for answers decades after these traumatic events. I understand and acknowledge the frustration of families who for too long have had to contend with inadequate mechanisms for addressing their cases. For that reason, the establishment of a new comprehensive framework for dealing with the legacy of the past, as envisaged in the Stormont House Agreement, remains a priority of the Government. We believe that these mechanisms offer the best hope of helping the thousands of families touched by the Troubles – including those affected by collusion.

These institutions will include a Historical Investigations Unit (HIU) to take forward investigations into Troubles-related deaths, as well as an Independent Commission on Information Retrieval (ICIR) to enable victims and survivors seek and privately receive information about Troubles-related deaths. Good progress is being made on the establishment of these institutions which I believe will assist all victims, including the victims of collusion, in their quest for justice and the truth.