Taoiseach rejects claims Government ‘not providing’ Troubles information
By Claudia Savage and Cillian Sherlock, Press Association
Micheál Martin has rejected the idea that the Government is not providing information to Troubles Legacy investigative bodies.
The Taoiseach also said the UK-Ireland’s Legacy Framework is a “generational opportunity” to make progress for Troubles survivors and bereaved families.
Declan Morgan, chief commissioner of the UK's Independent Commission on Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR), which investigates Troubles Crimes under the Labour Government’s reformed Legacy Act, has previously said the body does not have information-sharing arrangements with the Irish authorities.
Earlier this week DUP leader Gavin Robinson said An Garda Síochána had “never” responded to requests from the ICRIR.
Also this week, Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan secured government approval for a Bill to facilitate former ministers and state bodies in giving sworn testimony to the Omagh Bombing Inquiry.
Martin told reporters at Fota House, Co Cork, after the UK-Ireland summit with UK prime minister Keir Starmer, the Government “would reject any idea that we’re not providing information”.
”In fact, as you know, cabinet has approved legislation to facilitate the co-operation with the Omagh inquiry and that is bespoke legislation to facilitate the taking of evidence and so forth,” he said.
”We did a bespoke mechanism for the Kingsmill inquiry also and the chairman of that inquiry spoke positively in terms of how that worked in the context of Kingsmill.
"I have made it very clear that any information we can give to help victims and survivors of the Troubles we will do and we will co-operate fully in that regard.”
Last year, a joint UK/Irish framework on the Troubles was announced, which outlined a range of measures and mechanisms for dealing with historical cases from the Northern Ireland conflict.
The framework included commitments to fundamentally reform the structures established by the last Conservative government’s contentious Legacy Act, including the removal of a controversial provision that offered a form of conditional immunity to perpetrators of Troubles crimes.
The Government then committed to the “fullest possible” co-operation with the new legacy commission and the creation of a dedicated legacy unit within An Garda Síochána.
Speaking about the framework the Taoiseach said: “I think this is a generational opportunity to get the Legacy issue over the line so that we can begin to respond to the needs of families.
“It’s a generational anguish and trauma that we need to respond to and it’s gone on for far, far too long, we’re going on two and half decades now, and I think this is a robust framework, we all agreed we’ve all had to compromise to get where we are.”
Martin also said: ”I think we’ve made a lot of progress on Legacy and I would pay tribute to Keir Starmer, to (Northern Ireland Secretary) Hilary Benn who’ve worked on that with the Tánaiste and Helen McEntee.”
