Ireland not at point of dropping case on Legacy Act, Harris says

Tánaiste Simon Harris wants both Irish and British governments to take a joint approach to legacy. File picture: Brian Lawless/PA

Ireland is still not at the point of dropping its interstate case against Britain over the Legacy Act, the Tánaiste has said.

The Government launched an interstate legal case against the British government over the laws which halted scores of civil cases and inquests into Troubles deaths.

The Act was brought in by Britain's previous Conservative government.

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.

While the Labour government is repealing parts of the Act, including the offer of conditional immunity for perpetrators of Troubles killings, it has decided to retain the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR).

The Legacy Act has also faced opposition from political parties in Northern Ireland and victims’ organisations.

Tánaiste Simon Harris met with Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn in Liverpool on Thursday, as part of the first in a series of UK-Ireland summits between now and 2030.

They had also held a meeting in Dublin last week.

Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn (Ben Whitley/PA)

Mr Harris said he was confident the summit marked a new chapter in the Irish-British relationship, rooted in the “commitments as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement”.

He said Ireland wants to be in a position where the case is no longer necessary but said there was a requirement “to get to that point first”.

The Tánaiste told reporters: “Ireland never wanted to find itself in a position where it had to take its nearest neighbour to an international court. Of course we didn’t and of course we exhausted every diplomatic and political avenue before having to take that case.

“I’ve been very clear since the election of the still relatively new British government that we want to be in a place where we can no longer need to have that case alive.

“Of course, we have to get to that point first. There is a sequence to all of this.”

He said it was “very welcome” to see a commitment to repealing and replacing the Legacy Act included in the King’s Speech on the House of Commons’ legislative agenda.

“But of course, as with anything, what’s in that legislation matters.

“We’ve got to make sure that we can bring victims with us, bring victims families with us, bring the representative groups with us, that we can engage with the parties in Northern Ireland.”

A meeting of the UK-Ireland summit on Thursday (Peter Byrne/PA)

Mr Harris added: “I want to try and get to a point in the weeks ahead where it will become clear, is it possible for the two governments to take a joint approach to legacy.

“One that is, of course, human rights compliant, and one that can, of course, win the confidence of people in Northern Ireland.

“And and when we get to that moment, and we’ll obviously then review the future of the interstate case.”

Asked specifically if he supported the ICRIR, Mr Harris said he was “very aware of the deeply held” views of Northern Ireland political parties and victims’ groups on the matter.

He said: “I don’t want to cut across conversations that the Secretary of State and I are having in good faith, because we want to allow a period of time to have intense engagements between the Irish and British governments.

“I instinctively approach this issue from the perspective of believing that when the Irish and British governments work together – and particularly work together on tricky, difficult and painful issues – that that offers the best opportunity to make progress.

“That can only happen if there’s an agreed landing zone.”

He added: “The Irish position, though, has always been very clear in relation to any mechanism that’s put in place obviously having to be human-rights compliant.

“The current legislation obviously wasn’t going to work.

“There’s a recognition from the British government in relation to that, and also, crucially, trying to gain the confidence of those most affected in terms of the process.

“So I don’t want to be overly prescriptive, because I don’t want to be unhelpful to the process, but I do know this: I believe in the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, we have an honest and honourable interlocutor.”