State Papers1992-2002

Dublin and Belfast state papers: What files are being released this week?

Full coverage in The Irish Times of documents covering a 10-year period from 1992 as well as earlier files

Government documents have normally been made available for public viewing after 30 years, but this gap is being reduced over time to 20 years. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien

Wed Dec 28 2022 - 00:05

Anglo-Irish records from 1996-2002 from the departments of the taoiseach, foreign affairs and justice are being released this week.

Certain State papers from 1992 are also being declassified, comprising government minutes, files from the Office of the Attorney General and records from the departments of the taoiseach and foreign affairs. Some files from earlier years not previously disclosed are also being made available.

Government documents have normally been released for public viewing after 30 years, but this gap is being reduced over time to 20 years due to legislative change in 2018. The decision to move to a 20-year rule in the Republic follows the precedent set by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (Proni). On Thursday, it is releasing files covering mainly 1999. Proni is phasing in the 20-year rule over 10 years, with one-two years’ worth of records reviewed and released each year.

Full coverage in The Irish Times can be found at www.irishtimes.com/tags/state-papers/ and in print, including:

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Wednesday: A decade of change: New taoisigh, IRA ceasefires and a more modern Ireland emerges

Thursday: The 1992 X case, Sinn Féin strategies and the human cost of the Troubles

Friday: Marie Coleman of Queen’s University Belfast on the birth of the Northern Ireland Assembly and why it continues to flounder

Saturday: Broadcaster and historian John Bowman assesses some of the key politicians who shaped the peace process

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