The UUP hits back at Irish government criticism of UK on legacy

It comes after scathing criticism from the Republic of Ireland of the UK for its handling of legacy issues.

The Ulster Unionist Party’s justice spokesperson Doug Beattie said that any meaningful examination of the legacy of the Troubles must include Dublin addressing the key role which the Republic of Ireland played in facilitating the IRA’s terror campaign.

He said: “Once again the Republic of Ireland has seen fit to intervene in legacy matters in Northern Ireland and once again it has failed to address the reality of the situation.

“Firstly, in spite of the fact that their Foreign Minister Simon Coveney and the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin have been told time and time again that the Ulster Unionist Party did not, does not and will not ever support the Stormont House Agreement’s (SHA) legacy arrangements, the message does not seem to be getting through.

“We have consistently pointed out that the SHA legacy arrangements are imbalanced and fundamentally flawed, not least with regard to the proposed Historical Investigations Unit (HIU). We must be careful that we do not end up with a process which gives in to those who shout the loudest rather than seeking to do what is right and deliver a balanced, fair, equitable and proportionate solution.

“Secondly, Dublin seems to have a major bout of amnesia when it comes to the Troubles. It is very quick to demand all manner of inquiries and state papers from the UK government, but utterly fails to see the need for reciprocity on its part. The Ulster Unionist Party wants Dublin to face up to the role played by the Republic of Ireland during the Troubles because it was certainly no passive bystander. As a starting point, for decades its territory provided a safe haven for the IRA, a storehouse for huge amounts of illegal weaponry, terrorist training camps and a base from which to launch numerous attacks across the border into Northern Ireland resulting in the death and injury of many hundreds of UK citizens. And to that list we must add the refusal of successive Dublin governments to extradite wanted terrorist suspects to the UK.”

He added: “In spite of all this, to this very day, Dublin continues to act as if the Troubles were nothing to do with it, and refuses to even contemplate the key role it played in facilitating the IRA’s terror campaign.

“That is not acceptable, and the more Dublin makes demands of the UK government, the louder the calls will be for the Republic of Ireland to come clean about its role in the Troubles.”

Ireland told the Committee of Ministers in Strasbourg it was increasingly concerned that “legislation to implement the Stormont House Agreement framework has not been progressed by the UK ... [and that the UK has] cast further doubt on the nature of its commitment — reaffirmed at the time of the New Decade New Approach agreement in January — to [legislate] as a matter of urgency.”

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