Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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111. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide an update on any recent engagement he has had with the British Secretary for Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56957/25]

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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124. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade for an update on his recent engagement with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57041/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 111 and 124 together.

Seeking a joint approach to fundamental reform of the UK Legacy Act has been at the heart of all of my meetings and phone discussions with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Hilary Benn, since I assumed my current role. This engagement has been both intensive and constructive.

In the past two months, I have met with and talked to SoS Benn on a number of occasions.

At the British Irish Association conference on 5 September in Oxford, we undertook a joint session, in which we both delivered remarks and engaged in a wider discussion. My remarks focused on the momentum behind the British-Irish partnership, the upcoming 40th anniversary of the historic Anglo-Irish Agreement and the importance of political leadership for transformational change. I emphasised that, twenty-seven years on from the Good Friday Agreement, we needed to agree a way forward and comprehensively deal with the legacy of the Troubles. Separately, I had a bilateral meeting with the Secretary of State on the same day, focused on finalising agreement on legacy, and on discussing the then forthcoming appointment by both Governments of an Independent Expert on paramilitary transition.

On 19 September the Secretary of State and I announced the publication of an agreed Joint Framework on the Legacy of the Troubles at Hillsborough Castle. On the morning of the announcement, we met with range of victims’ and survivors groups in Belfast, to brief them on the contents of the Joint Framework ahead of its publication. This built on my ongoing engagement with these groups throughout the year.

This was an important and historic moment, representing a return to partnership between both Governments, as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement.

I was invited by the UK Foreign Secretary to attend a meeting of the Berlin Process in Hillsborough Castle on 8 October. This provided a first opportunity to re-engage with Secretary of State Benn on the Joint Framework since its publication, as well as to discuss the UK Government’s plan to introduce digital ID cards. On this point, I stressed the importance of any ID card scheme not undermining the rights enshrined in the Good Friday Agreement, or the operation of the Common Travel Area.

On 14 October, the Secretary of State published legislation in the House of Commons to amend the UK Legacy Act. I am examining this closely and expect to discuss this in more detail with SoS Benn in the coming weeks.