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UK PRIME MINISTER Rishi Sunak used a call with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to express his government’s “disappointment” over Ireland’s decision to legally challenge the British position on investigating crimes committed during the Troubles.
Laws enacted by the UK Government seek to provide a limited form of immunity to those accused of Troubles-related offences.
The move has faced staunched criticism and is opposed by many victims’ groups in Northern Ireland and all the main Stormont parties.
The call between the two leaders comes after Varadkar announced in December that the Government would legally challenge the UK Government over the Legacy Act in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
He said at the time that the “strong” legal advice was the UK Legacy Act breached the United Nations’ Convention on Human Rights.
Downing Street confirmed Sunak raised the legal action during his conversation with the Taoiseach.
A UK Government spokesman said: “The leaders addressed the Irish government’s launching of an interstate case on the UK Government’s Legacy Act.
“The Prime Minister expressed his disappointment at the timing and course of action in December, coming at such a sensitive time.
“He noted that the Irish government had yet to respond to important questions about its own approach to legacy issues, including with regard to investigations into the 1998 Omagh bombing.
“The UK Government would continue to pursue answers to those questions which had been laid out by the Secretary of State (Chris Heaton-Harris), including with regard to the lack of criminal prosecutions in Ireland.”
A spokeswoman for the Prime Minister denied that the conversation had been terse, saying Sunak had been “reiterating the Government’s disappointment” that had previously been set out by Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland Secretary.
In a statement, the Taoiseach said he had had “a good call with the UK Prime Minister”, without mentioning any discussion of the case at the ECHR.
Heaton-Harris wrote to Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin earlier this month questioning Ireland’s opposition to the Legacy Act.
Aspects of the recently passed UK laws include a limited form of immunity from prosecution for Troubles-related offences for those who co-operate with the new Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR).
The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 will also halt future civil cases and legacy inquests.
In his letter to Martin, the Northern Ireland Secretary challenged Ireland to set out its own record on tackling legacy issues, pointing out that, while the UK has initiated a public inquiry into the 1998 Omagh bomb, the Irish government has not, despite a court ruling saying it should do likewise.
Heaton-Harris also called on Mr Martin to list the number of prosecutions mounted in the Irish state since 1998 related to Troubles incidents.
The phone call with Sunak and Varadkar came after there was a breakthrough in the DUP’s two-year boycott of powersharing arrangements at Stormont.
Sunak briefed the Taoiseach on the details of the deal struck between the DUP and the UK Government.
Asked whether the call had been difficult, Sunak’s spokeswoman said: “No, it was a good call, positive.
“They both welcomed the step that we saw from the DUP last night.”
A statement from the Taoiseach echoed that description, saying that “both leaders said they hope this paves the way for the early restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive and the Assembly, and that North-South Ministerial meetings will resume again.
“They agreed to keep in touch over the coming period.”
With reporting from David MacRedmond
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Despite this $600bn spent on ‘defence’ annually in the USA…
@keenan, the US is the future third world.
We should build communal trailer parks and house the layabouts and scobies. If all the freeloaders houses were returned to the market it would solve a lot of problems.
Forty coats of tar and feathers for you sunshine
Anyone else think the two lads in the car look a bit scary?
The guy closest to the camera is slightly Christian Bale in the machinist…
So much for the American Dream!
As opposed to your Sinn Fein socialist paradise? Aint no dreams going to be made in that at all.
Would you prefer Fianna Fâils Wild West economics? That worked out great eh. Or the Blueshirts severe austerity and one of the worst unemployment rates in Europe. Don’t talk shit if you can’t argue an alternative.
“Blueshirts”… are you living in the 1930′s or something? Believe it or not but the Irish economy is stronger now than it has been in 8 years. Unemployment is falling rapidly and investment is rising. Let’s keep the “talk shit” policy to Sinn Fein circles
@Shane, what country are you living in. I along with others have emigrated and will never return.
Finally, Shane Sinn Feinn are not a socialist party, they are Republicans thugs masquerading as a party
dream on sheane. ya blue shirt
Jesus I thought these were photos of certain location in mullingar until I saw the caption.
should the article headline not read, “life inside a US trailer park”?
My God, the article makes these people seem like aliens and that the photographer got a lucky break to take the shots. I can imagine how annoyed these people were when they read the article. The photos are not very good either, bad composition, terrible lighting, etc. They look very unnatural and forced.
Unnatural and forced? Are we looking at the same pictures?..
Yes Paul Cadmin , I agree the pictures are terribly shot. Lighting is not on the subject and the posing of subjects is unnatural. Really poor and creates a miserable set of images.
“They took Errr Jerbs!”
Ha! If I could like this more than once I would.
Really great photography, beautifully captured. I particularly like the last one.
a price worth paying to keep the military complex going….murica fck yeah!
And you here to commit
It isn’t that bad, people in the usa spend their money differently to us, they eat out more than eat in etc & plenty of people in Ireland live in mobile homes. We have our own issues in this country without being smug and judging another one.
Do me babee one more time….
Ireland and most of Europe in 20 to 30 years time. A World that is over populated , poor, and Islamic.
Islamic? Will all the Christians, Jews, Hindus and Atheists disappear?
Muslim war will be won via higher birth rates. Not guns and bombs that’s just a side show.
Don’t look that bad
American Travellers.
Blaming the “Military Industrial Complex”. Is that the new buzz-phrase that Russell Brand has encouraged his army of trendy leftie keyboard warriors to use. You have the Che Guevara t-shirt, the Keffiyeh, and now you can have your very own simplified, yet intelligent sounding, phrase of the revolution.
Do people honestly believe that if America stopped spending money on weapons and defence that the myriad socio-economical reasons why people find themselves living in Trailer parks would be resolved? Lyndon B. Johnston attempted a “war on poverty” and invested billions in Welfare and Government Programs. And while many of those programs are good and help people, the reality is governments cannot prevent poverty.
Of course they can, and should, help the poorest, but just throwing money at the problem wont stop poverty. And using Government power (Or to use the euphemism of Leninist politicians “Workers control”) to impose “equality” has been shown, by successive failures in the Warsaw Pact nations, to be ineffective and morally wrong.
The reality is, governments should stay out of the “ending poverty” business. Instead, they should offer a minimum basic income and comprehensive voucher systems to the poor/people under the minimum basic income. They cannot simply direct an economy in any way they wish. They must allow wealth creators the freedom to create the the jobs, They must allow schools and universities to be incentivised to produce the best results. Simply put, the government should stay out of the way, only there to ensure the vulnerable do not suffer.
Great point tony. Unfortunately democracy dictates generally that the better off people dictate the health and education of the poor people. You could argue that government should just solely focus on economic and foeign policy and let the masses find their own way. Unfortunately though when a small group of elected people forget their people and focus on economic and foreign policies we end up with bazi Germany or Soviet russia.
There are also some very upmarket trailer parks filled with $200,000 motor homes and $100,000 trailers. That’s the US, there are rich and poor, just like here, and we give €700,000,000 to overseas aid for no real result.
How do you go from trailer parks to bashing overseas aid in one sentence?
Alice Cooper has kept himself in great shape
This is such a condescending insulting portrayal of life in a trailor park. Would have been better if one of the residents had taken this guys camera and turned it on him to see what clueless, sanctimonious privelage looks like. He brought a taxidermied fox?! Because trailor park trash sleep with wild animals?
Are they all inbred ?
have your say