The Irish government has told a high profile Stormont committee it cannot co-operate with a controversial British government legacy body because it is incompatible with human rights laws.
Foreign affairs minister Helen McEntee outlined the Dublin government’s concerns in a letter to the chair of the assembly’s Executive Office committee earlier this year.
It is understood the correspondence was sent to the committee after senior officials from the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) briefed the body in June.
The commission is headed by former Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan, while ex-senior police officer Peter Sheridan leads its investigations.
It was established under the Conservative Party’s Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 and is set to be rebranded the Legacy Commission as part of the Troubles Bill.
Many people impacted by the Troubles are opposed to the commission, believing it to be part of a British government attempt to protect state participants from accountability.
The Irish government has also launched an interstate case against the UK over the Legacy Act.
During June’s hearing, Mr Morgan said the Irish government was “not providing us with information relating to investigations” and had not responded to letters in relation to several cases.
Ms McEntee later wrote to Ms Bradshaw setting out the Irish government position.
While that correspondence has not been made public by the committee, it has been obtained from the Irish government via a Freedom of Information request by Relatives for Justice (RFJ).
In the letter, seen by the Irish News, Ms McEntee pointed out that changes have yet to be made to the ICRIR.
“The Irish government has long made clear that we are not in a position to cooperate with the current body,” Ms McEntee wrote.
“Fundamentally, the legislation establishing the ICRIR remains incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
“The agreed fundamental and necessary reform of the ICRIR, which will become the Legacy Commission, has not yet taken place.”
Ms McEntee said her government needs “the enactment of the UK legislation, coupled with our own, to provide an adequate legal basis for cooperation into the future.
“We welcome the UK Government’s commitment to provide such a legal basis,” she said.
“We are continuing to engage with them as the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill progresses through Westminster, and look forward to that process being completed as soon as possible.”
The minister set out other steps her government has taken, including the establishment of Troubles Legacy Liaison Unit within An Garda Síochána earlier this year.
RFJ chief executive Mark Thompson was critical of the ICRIR contribution to the committee which he said deflected “from the unlawfulness of the ICRIR and damning findings on governance flaws and toxicity, was clearly to be seen in this committee hearing.
“It was an exercise in playing into a DUP and TUV agenda, misrepresenting the position of the Irish government’s defence of all victims’ human rights, serving to vindicate the well founded lack of confidence of families in the ICRIR.”
