Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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64. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the heads of state with whom he has raised the British amnesty for crimes by British service members during the Troubles; the response of each respective head of state; and the further actions he plans to take to garner international support against the amnesty. [5243/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Government has made clear that a Statue of Limitations with respect to Troubles-related offenses, as proposed in the UK Government’s command paper last July, is not something we could support. It has been opposed by all parties in Northern Ireland, and, crucially, by victims and survivors. We have also cautioned very strongly against unilateral action by the UK Government in this most sensitive space.

The Taoiseach has conveyed these concerns to Prime Minister Johnson, and at every available opportunity I have underlined this message to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

In engagements with my EU counterparts, I have made clear the Government’s position when I update them on the latest developments with respect to Northern Ireland. We have also been very clear in our interventions in the Council of Europe that the rule of law and the protections afforded by the European Convention on Human Rights must apply equally to everyone and must be upheld, and this principle is at the core of the Stormont House framework. I would note that the UN Special Rapporteur has expressed their grave concerns with regard to the UK’s proposals, as has the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights.

We have also been engaging with US contacts in the Administration and Congress on this issue. We have made clear that the proposal for a Statute of Limitations is not one that we could support.

In 2014, together with the UK Government and the parties in Northern Ireland, we reached the Stormont House Agreement which provided for a balanced and comprehensive framework to address the legacy of the past. We have consistently said that we are ready to engage with concerns or issues to do with the implementation of the Stormont House agreement but any such changes must be discussed and agreed by the parties and both Governments. It is vital that any approach is collective if it is to work, and crucially, that it meets both the needs of victims and our shared international human rights obligations.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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65. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has raised with any British government official the issue of British collusion with loyalist paramilitaries and barriers to investigating that collusion imposed by British security authorities; and if so, the officials he raised it with. [5244/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I have consistently raised the need to comprehensively address the legacy of the past with the British Government, including at the British-Irish Inter-Governmental Conference, the latest of which took place in London on 2 December. I am in regular contact with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with the party leaders in Northern Ireland, and with victims and civil society organisations as we continue to press for progress on this issue.

The Government agreed to take part, together with the UK Government and the Northern Ireland parties, in a legacy engagement process which began in July last year, with the aim of finding a collective way forward on these issues. We also continue to raise individual legacy cases and the urgent need for access to information, including with respect to the Dublin-Monaghan bombings and the murder of Pat Finucane.

The Government has of course noted the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland's report into the RUC's handling of paramilitary attacks by the UDA/UFF between 1989 and 1993, which resulted in 19 murders and multiple attempted murders. Within this report, the Ombudsman has identified collusive behaviours and raised significant concerns about police conduct. This is an important report and we are studying it carefully.

The publication of this report was undoubtedly a significant and emotional moment for the families who lost loved ones as a result of this violence, and indeed for all families across the island who have shared that terrible experience and have had to campaign for decades to access the truth. It has been the consistent position of the Government that all families deserve access to information and a process of justice for their loved one, regardless of the perpetrator. Too many families have been waiting for too long.

A comprehensive legacy framework, as we set out in the Stormont House Agreement, is urgently needed. We will continue to work for the implementation of such a framework, in order to support wider societal reconciliation, build greater community confidence in policing and meet the legitimate needs of victims and survivors in Northern Ireland and across the island of Ireland.

The Government has consistently engaged with the British Government at all levels to make clear that a Statute of Limitations is not an approach we could support, and to caution strongly against unilateral action in this area. Only a collective approach, that meets the needs of families and upholds our shared human rights obligations, can be the way forward on this most sensitive of issues. The rule of law and the protections afforded by the European Convention on Human Rights must apply equally to everyone and must be upheld.