Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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609. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he or his Department have received a letter from Relatives from Justice relating to a person (details supplied) who was murdered in July 1972, and new information that has become available from photographs; if any action will be taken; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34629/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I can confirm that I received the letter in question from Relatives for Justice (RfJ) on 28 September 2015. The letter and the requests therein are currently being carefully considered and a response will issue in due course. I can assure the Deputy that my Department is already taking a keen interest in the case referred to the letter from RfJ and it is a source of concern. My Department has been in correspondence with a relative of the person murdered in July 1972 and my officials have recently met with the relative. I have conveyed my concern concerning the continued delays in the inquest into the death of the person in question and with problems experienced regarding access to requested information. Given my Department’s work on dealing with the legacy of past related to the Troubles, I am only too aware of the deep frustration and distress experienced by those seeking truth and justice for their loved ones. The Irish Government continues, in our ongoing bilateral relations and through the European Court of Human Rights at Strasbourg, to raise with the British Government their Article 2 obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in relation to specific Troubles-related deaths.

Over 3,500 people died during the Troubles. The suffering of their relatives and friends endures to this day. 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 past, as envisaged in the Stormont House Agreement, remains a priority of the Government.

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 families to seek and privately receive information about Troubles-related deaths.

In the Stormont House Agreement, it was acknowledged also that recent domestic and European judgments have demonstrated that the legacy inquest process in Northern Ireland is not providing access to a sufficiently effective investigation within an acceptable timeframe. In light of this, the NI Executive has undertaken to take appropriate steps to improve the way the legacy inquest function is conducted to comply with ECHR Article 2 requirements. The Irish Government supports the full and expeditious implementation of the Stormont House Agreement including in relation to legacy inquests.