The Taoiseach has said he hopes Ireland will be able to drop its legal case against the UK Government over legacy laws.
Simon Harris said he sensed a willingness by the new Labour Government to engage intensively to find a common approach on issues related to the Northern Ireland Troubles.
Earlier this week, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn set out the Government’s plan to repeal and replace the previous government’s Legacy Act.
The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, introduced by the Conservatives, halted scores of civil cases and inquests into Troubles deaths.
It also introduced a provision to give conditional immunity to perpetrators of Troubles crimes in exchange for their co-operation with a new truth recovery body, the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR).
The law was opposed by victims’ groups in Northern Ireland and all the main political parties at Stormont. The Irish Government was also vehemently opposed to it and last year initiated an interstate legal case against the UK in the European Court of Human Rights, claiming the Act breached the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The case remains active, with ministers in Dublin wanting to see how Labour resolves its concerns over the legislation before any decision is taken to withdraw the action.
On Wednesday, Mr Benn told the Commons that the Government was taking the “first steps” to repeal and replace the Act.
Inquests and civil cases will resume and the conditional immunity provision will be axed.
There is an opportunity now to deal with a sensitive, a thorny, a difficult, a painful issue
However, the Government is retaining the ICRIR, which has both investigatory and truth recovery functions. This has angered some victims, who have demanded that the commission is scrapped and replaced with new legacy mechanisms.
After attending the British-Irish Council summit in Edinburgh on Friday, Mr Harris spoke of his desire to resolve his Government’s differences with the UK over legacy.
“The legal action still remains but I hope we can get to a position where it doesn’t need to remain, but it’s important we get this right,” he said.
“I think there’s been a lot of hurt, a lot of broken trust, and I don’t mean between governments, I mean in relation to victims, survivors and their families.
“There is an opportunity now to deal with a sensitive, a thorny, a difficult, a painful issue. I think there’s a willingness, by the way, on behalf of the British Government, the Irish Government, the parties in Northern Ireland, to engage and engage intensively on this.
“And I hope we can get to a point there where that legal action wouldn’t be necessary.”
