Regaining the trust of Troubles victims and their families will be critical to the success of the new Labour government’s efforts to repeal controversial UK legacy legislation, Tánaiste Micheál Martin has said.
Mr Martin said he had a very positive meeting with new Northern Ireland Secretary of State Hilary Benn at Hillsborough Castle on Thursday night, where they discussed many issues including the controversial legacy legislation introduced by Rishi Sunak’s Tory government.
“The tone was good. We had a lengthy meeting. We explored many of the issues, including legacy. And I think he has clear ideas around legacy. The precise mechanisms by which they would bring about change have yet to be determined,” he said.
“We did both accept that the critical issue was restoring trust amongst victims and the families of victims in respect of whatever legacy process is ultimately determined upon, and that is key really, irrespective of the mechanisms that will be developed – that trust is restored.”
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The UK Conservative government passed the controversial Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 last September in the face of opposition from all the political parties in Northern Ireland and victims of the Troubles.
The Tory government said the legislation, which applies to all former members of the security forces and ex-paramilitaries, was an attempt to draw a line under the events of the past and would offer conditional amnesty to those accused of killings and causing injury.
But various victims’ groups and all the political parties in the North opposed the move, saying it would remove access to justice for thousands of victims and their relatives who were affected by 30 years of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Last December, the Republic initiated an interstate case against the UK at the European Court of Justice, where it argued that the provisions of the legacy legislation were incompatible with the UK’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Labour under Keir Starmer opposed the legislation and pledged to repeal it if in government. Today, Mr Martin said Thursday night’s meeting with Mr Benn was reassuring in that regard, as he was confident the UK government would keep the Irish Government well briefed on its moves to repeal it.
“It was agreed that both governments and both sets of officials would engage on the matter, and I did point out yesterday that within the interstate case there are facilities for a friendly resolution of these issues between two governments.
“Suffice to say, I think the British government’s position on the immunity questions are now clear, and there are other issues he’s looking at in terms of inquests and civil cases, but I would allow the Secretary some time and space to come forward with these precise proposals.”
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