Leo Varadkar and Joe Biden discuss Stormont stasis and NI legacy bill

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said he spoke with US president Joe Biden about the ongoing talks on the restoration of the Northern Ireland executive and controversial British government plans for dealing with Troubles’ legacy issues.

He said Mr Biden was very well appraised of Irish affairs and wanted to know if there was any way in which he could help.

Speaking in New York on Wednesday, Mr Varadkar said: “I told him we had no specific ask at the moment but we are very happy that he is continuing to keep abreast of issues in Ireland.”

He added: “It was a very short meeting but one that was still useful to have. He listened more than he spoke but was very keen to know what was happening in Northern Ireland and if progress was being made [on restoring Stormont].”

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The Taoiseach also said he had raised the British government’s decision to introduce legislation on a unilateral basis to deal with legacy issues. He said he told Mr Biden there was no specific request for assistance on the issue at this stage “but we would keep him appraised of things”.

Asked if there might be a specific request from the Government to the president in the future on the matter, the Taoiseach said: “Well, the offer is there, but there is none at the moment”.

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin also said he had briefed officials from the White House and State Department about Northern Ireland and the British legacy legislation.

He said he expected to receive legal advice in the next two weeks or so about the possibility of taking a legal case against the UK to the European Court of Human Rights.

[ What is the Northern Ireland Troubles legacy Bill? ]

Mr Varakar said once this advice was received, he and Mr Martin would sit down with the Attorney General to consider it.

“There are legal questions but also political questions,” he said. “It is not a small thing to take a case to Strasbourg against another state, a neighboring state. [It is] not something we would like to do or a position that we want to be in. But we have to do what’s right, and the voice that we always listen to when it comes to the Troubles legacy is the voice of the victims and their families.”

Meanwhile, 16 legal challenges have been lodged so far against the controversial legacy legislation involving victims’ cases ranging from 1971 through to the mid-1990s.

Families of a number of victims gathered at Belfast’s Royal Courts of Justice on Wednesday as a brief review of the cases took place in the High Court.

Representatives for the victims said the hearing was the first step in their battle to oppose the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act, which received royal assent on Monday despite widespread opposition from political parties, victims’ organisations and others.

The most controversial aspects include a limited form of immunity from prosecution for Troubles-related offences to those who co-operate with the new Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery. It will also halt future civil cases and inquests.

Legal firms Madden & Finucane, KRW Law, O Muirigh Solicitors, Phoenix Law and victims campaigner Raymond McCord are among those who have already announced legal actions over the legislation.

Mr Justice Colton said: “It is quite clear there is a degree of overlap in those applications so, as a first step, I would like all the applicants’ solicitors to address or identify what case or cases they say should proceed.

“There is absolutely no benefit to anybody in multiple cases arguing exactly the same point. Having done that, I would encourage all of you to liaise with each other to see whether or not it would be possible to identify core cases to proceed.”

Mr Justice Colton said he will hold a further review hearing on September 28th. - Additional reporting: PA