UK government’s Troubles amnesty plan would undermine ‘rule of law’, Taoiseach says

The UK government’s plans to introduce an amnesty on Troubles-era prosecutions would likely result in years of legal challenge and further hardship for the families of victims, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.

Mr Martin said the proposals were deeply unfair to families and would undermine “both the rule of law and our shared work for deeper reconciliation”.

“Each family deserves access to a process of justice, and until that process is in place, families and communities will campaign, and have to fight through the courts, and as time passes, that burden is already being passed to new generations. That is not acceptable,” he said.

Mr Martin was speaking during statements in the Dáil on Tuesday in relation to legacy issues in Northern Ireland, following on from the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Derry on Sunday.

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Thirteen people died and others were injured when the British army opened fire on anti-internment marchers in Derry’s Bogside on January 30th, 1972, in an event that became known as Bloody Sunday. A 14th person died later of injuries sustained during the event.

Last July, the British government published a command paper outlining proposals that would block all investigations, prosecutions and other legal or civil actions over Troubles-related crimes alleged to have been committed either by British security forces or paramilitary groups.

‘Strongly opposed’

Mr Martin said every party on the island, North and South, has “strongly and publicly opposed” the proposals.

“This Government has made abundantly clear that the UK proposals cannot be the basis of a way forward,” he said.

He said the Government has engaged with their British counterparts and the parties in Northern Ireland to seek a “collective way forward” on the issue.

“We will continue to do so. It is vital that we find an agreed approach, that we could see implemented in both jurisdictions. It is also vital that any approach meets the legitimate needs of victims and survivors, and also upholds our shared human rights obligations,” he added.

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence Simon Coveney said progress cannot be made on "the basis of unilateral moves by one government to end justice and accountability".

Mr Coveney said the British government’s proposals had caused widespread hurt and anger and that it was important “to be absolutely clear that this is not a proposal that the Irish Government could ever support”.

"I have given that message consistently to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach has conveyed it to prime minister [Boris] Johnson also," he said.

Injustice

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said that for the families of Bloody Sunday victims, “their pain is still very raw and their deep sense of injustice burns still”.

“They say that time heals all wounds but not so for the 14 innocent people shot down by the British army on January 30th, 1972. How could it?” she said.

The Dublin Central TD said the integrity of the Bloody Sunday and Ballymurphy families "stands in stark contrast to [the] shame of the current Tory government".

Ms McDonald said it was important there is an all-Oireachtas approach in challenging how the British government deals with legacy issues. She also called on the Government to apply “concerted, consistent pressure” on the British government to “bin” the proposed legislation.