Amnesty for British soldiers
Mary Lou McDonald condemned reported British plans for an amnesty covering soldiers and others involved in killings and asked the Taoiseach what action he would take. The Taoiseach said Ireland and victim groups opposed any unilateral move away from the Stormont House Agreement and rejected a general amnesty.
This afternoon, the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis, will set out plans to introduce an amnesty for British soldiers who went on to the streets and gunned down innocent civilians in Derry, in Ballymurphy and beyond. This is an amnesty for state and non-state actors who acted on behalf of and in collusion with the British state. These are people who always believed they would never be held to account for their actions and that the truth behind Britain's dirty war in Ireland would remain forever hidden by the British state. It turns out they were right. This is an insult to victims and their families. It is an act of absolute bad faith on the part of the British Government. It has left victims, survivors and their families believing this is a fait accompli and that this unilateral action from the British Government means the Stormont House Agreement has been binned.
Comment on this
-----set out what actions he proposes to take in the face of this gross act of bad faith? Has he lifted the phone-----
Comment on this
-----to Downing Street? If not, when will he?
Comment on this
The position of the Irish Government, which is shared by all of the political parties in Northern Ireland across the political spectrum, along with all the victim groups also, is that a unilateral move away from the Stormont House Agreement and the introduction of what amounts to a general amnesty for all security personnel and all paramilitaries for murders and other crimes committed up until the Good Friday Agreement is not the right way to go. It is wrong for many reasons. I have stated this consistently. I do not believe in a general amnesty for those who committed murder, whether they were state actors or involved in terrorist or illegal organisations. I just do not believe in that. We have consistently said this. The Deputy knows that at the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, there was an agreement to continue engagement with all parties and victims' groups on these issues. As the Deputy also knows, this process has started. The British Government may be setting out its position but our position as an Irish Government, shared with all of the political parties in the North and all of the victims' groups, remains consistent with that of the Stormont House Agreement.