The Taoiseach has rejected suggestions the Government is not providing information to Troubles legacy investigation bodies.
Micheál Martin also described the UK-Ireland legacy framework as a “generational opportunity” to make progress for Troubles survivors and bereaved families.
Sir Declan Morgan, chief commissioner of the Independent Commission on Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR), which investigates Troubles-era crimes under the Labour government’s reformed Legacy Act, previously said the body did not have information-sharing arrangements with Irish authorities.
DUP leader Gavin Robinson this week said An Garda Síochána has “never” responded to requests from the ICRIR.
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Martin told reporters at Fota House, Co Cork, after a UK-Ireland summit with British prime minister Keir Starmer, the Government “would reject any idea that we’re not providing information”.
“In fact, as you know, Cabinet has approved legislation to facilitate the co-operation with the Omagh inquiry and that is bespoke legislation to facilitate the taking of evidence and so forth,” he said.
“We did a bespoke mechanism for the Kingsmill inquiry also and the chairman of that inquiry spoke positively in terms of how that worked.
“I have made it very clear that any information we can give to help victims and survivors of the Troubles we will do and we will co-operate fully in that regard.”
Last year, a joint UK-Irish framework on the Troubles was announced. It outlined a range of measures and mechanisms for dealing with historical cases from the conflict.
The framework included commitments to fundamentally reform the structures established by the last Conservative government’s contentious Legacy Act, including the removal of a controversial provision that offered a form of conditional immunity to perpetrators of Troubles-era crimes.
The Government then committed to the “fullest possible” co-operation with the new legacy commission and the creation of a dedicated legacy unit within the Garda.
Martin said he believed there was “a generational opportunity to get the legacy issue over the line” and to begin to respond to the needs of affected families.
“It’s a generational anguish and trauma that we need to respond to and it’s gone on for far, far too long. We’re going on 2½ decades now, and I think this is a robust framework we all agreed. We’ve all had to compromise to get where we are.” – PA
