Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 April 2022
292. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the outcome of the most recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland concerning the implementation of the Stormont House Agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19215/22]
View answerIt has been the consistent position of the Government that the Stormont House Agreement provides a balanced and comprehensive framework to address the legacy of the Troubles. It was agreed by both Governments and the political parties after intensive negotiations, and it should be implemented – for the families and victims who have waited for too long.
We have taken every opportunity in our regular engagements with the British Government, including at the recent British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference (BIIGC) on 23 March, to set out this position. We have cautioned the British Government strongly against any unilateral action on this most sensitive of issues.
As agreed at the BIIGC in June 2022, the Government joined the British Government and the Northern Irish parties in a process of engagement of these issues, with discussions beginning in July 2021. The intention is to find an agreed way forward that will allow implementing legislation to be introduced in both the UK and Ireland.
As we have consistently stated, a statute of limitations as proposed by the UK Government in their Command Paper is not something the Government can support. It is important to say that there has been a clear message from victims groups throughout this process that this cannot be the way forward. It has also been strongly and publicly opposed by all the parties. It would also go against the conclusions of the UK Government’s own extensive public consultation in Northern Ireland on legacy legislation in 2019. There would be very serious questions as to whether such an approach would be consistent with the obligations of the European Convention on Human Rights, which is itself a key element of the Good Friday Agreement. We believe it would face well-founded legal challenges, causing further years of uncertainly and pain for families.
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.
