The Government will soon reach a decision on whether it will challenge the British Government’s controversial legacy bill at the European Court of Human Rights, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheal Martin has declared.
“It will be soon,” said Mr Martin, speaking after a meeting of the British-Irish Inter-Governmental Conference attended by senior British figures, including the Northern Ireland Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris.
The Government has noted the total opposition from all of Northern Ireland’s political parties and victims’ groups to the legislation, which now means that all criminal and civil investigations and inquests into deaths during The Troubles have stopped.
Instead, the cases will be given to a new body, the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery, which has the power to offer conditional amnesties, though people could face significant penalties if they fail to co-operate properly.
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The issue was raised during the Farmleigh House meeting – the third meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference this year with the Northern Ireland Secretary and the British Secretary of State for Science and Innovation, Michelle Donelan, along with senior British officials, including Lord Jonathan Caine.
Responding to questions, Mr Martin said the Government has received legal advice from the Attorney General on the options available, “We’re conscious of timelines in respect of (the European Court of Human Rights), so we will be making a decision in advance of those timelines.”
He said the NI Secretary and other senior British figures have been “well aware of our concerns for some time” about the legacy legislation. Illustrating the Government’s concerns, Mr Martin declared, “It’s a matter of serious and sincere regret that we’ve reached this point.
“Because in our view, it’s vital that we would have a collective approach in line with human rights standards and with the needs of victims and families,” he said.
Reflecting the gulf that exists between Dublin and London, the NI Secretary insisted that the legacy legislation is “compliant” with ECHR rules.
“The Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery Commission will provide information and answers to the families of those who require it,” he said.
Meanwhile, the NI Secretary insisted that the talks between the British Government and the Democratic Unionist Party over the resumption of Stormont are in “their final, final steps”.
“We are really working hard to try and close this down. There are an ever-diminishing number of questions that we have to answer from the DUP, he said.
Yet again, however, he would not set a finish date on the talks, which have been dealt a blow by DUP leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson saying they are not “calender-led”.
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