Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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864. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the measures he, his Department and the Government are taking to give legislative effect to the Independent Commission on Information Retrieval which requires legislation passed through the Houses of the Oireachtas (details supplied). [40863/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Government is committed to the full implementation of the Stormont House Agreement. Where the British Government are proposing significant changes to the Stormont House framework, such as through its proposals published on 14 July 2021, we have made clear that any changes must be discussed and agreed by both Governments and the parties to the Northern Ireland Executive.

Following a meeting of the British Irish Intergovernmental Conference on 24 June, we agreed to begin an intensive process of engagement with the British Government and the Northern Ireland parties to find an agreed way forward. It is essential that the voices of victims and families are at the heart of that process.

The framework of the Stormont House Agreement provided for a set of institutions to deal comprehensively and fairly with the legacy of the Troubles, which included an Independent Commission on Information Retrieval (ICIR) for truth recovery, to be available to victims and survivors across the UK and Ireland.

The objective of the ICIR will be to enable victims and survivors to seek and privately receive information about the Troubles-related deaths of their next of kin.

The Irish and British Governments concluded an agreement on the establishment of the ICIR in October 2015. As set out in that agreement, the Commission will consist of five members; an Independent Chairperson of international standing, appointed by the two Governments, one Commissioner each appointed by the Irish and British Governments, and two Commissioners appointed jointly by Northern Ireland's First Minister and deputy First Minister.

The ICIR agreement was signed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs in October 2015 and laid before the Oireachtas in January 2016. The Independent Commission can only be formally established once the necessary legislation has been enacted in both jurisdictions and the two Governments have notified each other of completion of all other domestic legal procedures required to bring the agreement into force.

We have strongly communicated our position on this issue to the British Government and will continue to do so, and to caution in the clearest terms against any unilateral action. The Government will continue to engage and work with the British Government and the parties represented on the Northern Ireland Executive on this very important issue in the period immediately ahead, with the aim of finding a collectively agreed path forward that meets the needs of victims, families and society as a whole.