Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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71. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the challenge to the UK’s Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 which is before the European Court of Human Rights; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42179/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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On 17 January 2024, the Government filed an inter-state case against the United Kingdom with the European Court of Human Rights. In its application, the Government argues that certain provisions of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 are incompatible with the United Kingdom's obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.

The President of the Court gave notice of the application to the United Kingdom Government of the application on 18 January 2024, and has assigned this application to the First Section of the Court. Applications for leave to intervene as third parties in these proceedings have been made by a number of organisations and individuals.

On 1 July 2025 the Court decided to adjourn the proceedings in this case pending the final outcome of the case of Dillon and Others, which is currently pending before the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.

The British Government committed to ‘repeal and replace’ the Legacy Act following its election in July 2024. In practice, this has become a commitment to fundamentally reform the Legacy Act.

In December 2024, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland laid a remedial order before UK Parliament aimed at remedying certain of those incompatibilities by amending the Legacy Act. If adopted by the UK Parliament, this remedial order will remove the provisions of the Legacy Act, which provide for immunity from prosecution for Troubles-related offences, and will remove the bar on the initiation and continuation of Troubles-related civil actions. In addition, the Secretary of State has announced that he will introduce primary legislation to make additional reforms to the Legacy Act

In this context, intensive and constructive work has been ongoing with the British government to determine if we can move forward together on legacy, through fundamental reform of the Legacy Act and the Commission it establishes.

Any agreement on legacy with the UK government must be one that provides viable routes to truth accountability and justice for families and victims. Compliance with the Convention, and the ability to command the confidence of families and victims, remain our key benchmarks against which to assess progress.

If we can reach agreement on a shared way forward on legacy - and if this agreement is translated faithfully into amending legislation - we would hope to be in a position to revisit the issue of Ireland’s inter-state case.

In ongoing discussions with the British government care has been taken to ensure that these efforts are without prejudice to any submissions to be made by either Government in the inter-state case.