Justice Minister warns Stormont ‘cannot continue to absorb’ Legacy costs

Responding to a review that described a “toxic” culture inside the body tasked to investigate unresolved Troubles cases, the Justice Minister said the Government’s Legacy Commission “needs to be adequately funded, or it will run aground”.

A review of the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR), carried out by former Northern Ireland Civil Service permanent secretary Peter May, found the organisation has been “facing significant problems” stemming from its senior leadership team.

All UK police investigations into Troubles-related killings were shut down in May 2024 under the previous Conservative government’s Legacy Act and the ICRIR was established.

Labour’s Bill, agreed as part of a joint framework with the Irish Government, will put in place a reformed Legacy Commission with enhanced powers.

The May review also raised questions in relation to the ICRIR’s finances, claiming its current funding and staffing levels are “not sufficient to support the commission’s view of what is required under the legislation”.

During Justice questions at Stormont, SDLP MLA Patsy McGlone asked Ms Long if she had a comment on the findings of the report.

She said the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) need to “look very carefully at the governance arrangements because ultimately this beast of the ICRIR is one of their creation” and ensure recommendations for improvement are implemented.

“What draws my eye, I confess, is the fact that even though it is funded by annual managed expenditure, which, as you know, is much more flexible than DEL (Departmental Expenditure Limit) resource budgets, there has been a struggle for the ICRIR to be able to manage their case load within the boundaries of their finance,” she said.

“And that speaks to a longstanding problem within the Department of Justice, where we have had to absorb the cost of legacy now, since the beginning.

“The PSNI estimate it to be around £100 million for example, for legacy litigation alone.

“We cannot continue to absorb those costs without proper and adequate funding from the Northern Ireland Office and so I think some of the learning of this report will be that whatever new dispensation we enter into under the new Legacy Bill going through Parliament, it needs to be adequately funded, or it will run aground and let down the people who are using it as a means to get truth and justice.”

Mr McGlone further asked if Ms Long would be making representations to Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn in her capacity as justice minister.

She clarified that the ICRIR sits outside the Department of Justice, adding: “I had no part in the setting up of the previous legacy arrangements.

“In fact, both I and my department raised considerable concerns about those arrangements, and so it would not be within my purview as minister to raise those issues with the Secretary of State, but the member can rest assured that I will be raising them with the Secretary of State, albeit not as the minister of justice.”