Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The British Government’s 'Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill' was introduced on 17 May. The House of Commons have voted for the Bill to pass through its remaining stages, and the Bill will now go to the House of Lords for First Reading, though the date for this is not yet confirmed.

It is deeply disappointing that the British Government has chosen to unilaterally introduce legislation, moving away from the process agreed in the Stormont House Agreement -a process that was agreed by both Governments and the majority of the political parties in Northern Ireland. We have consistently maintained that any way forward on legacy must be based on a collective approach and a broad measure of consensus, with victims at its centre.

I met the new Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Shailesh Vara MP in London on Monday 11 July, following a phone call immediately upon his appointment. We discussed a broad range of issues including legacy, and I raised our serious concerns regarding this legacy Bill. I urged the Secretary of State against moving forward with unilateral action in this deeply sensitive space, and against taking an approach that does not have the support of victims or any political party in Northern Ireland. I will continue to remain in close contact with the Secretary of State, and our officials will also continue to engage on this issue, to communicate the profound concerns and upset being expressed by victims and their families.

I have also outlined our significant concerns by writing to the British Government in some detail. They include, but are not limited to, the status of the ‘reviews’ proposed in the Bill, serious questions around the independence of the proposed process and of course, fundamentally, compliance with Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights and other international human rights obligations.

The Government is firmly committed to making progress on this issue for the families and victims that have been waiting for too long for truth and justice, and will continue to engage with the British Government to make clear our serious concerns and urge them to reconsider their approach.