Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 16 December 2020
145. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the outcome of the most recent discussions he has had with the parties in the Northern Ireland Executive and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland about the need to implement the Stormont House Agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44037/20]
View answerThe Government is committed to the full implementation of the Stormont House Agreement, which was collectively agreed in 2014 by the two Governments and the political parties in Northern Ireland after extensive talks.
The Stormont House framework allows us to deal fairly and comprehensively with the legacy of the Troubles, in a way that responds to the needs of victims and survivors, and society as a whole. It is vital that it is implemented; indeed the wait has already been too long.
In March of this year, the UK Government proposed significant changes to the Stormont House framework. We have expressed our serious concerns about not only the substance of those changes, but also about the need for any such changes to be discussed and agreed collectively.
I have engaged with the the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland regularly on this issue, most recently at our meeting in Belfast in October, to underline our concerns on these issues. Contacts on the issue are also taking place at official level, and our message that the Stormont House Agreement is the way forward has been underlined at every opportunity. The Government remains ready to engage and work with the British Government and the parties to the Northern Ireland Executive in partnership on this very important issue in the period immediately ahead, with a view to reaffirming a collective approach that is consistent with the Stormont House Agreement framework.
