New UK-Ireland agreement ‘very close’, says Taoiseach Micheál Martin

The Republic of Ireland and the UK are “very close” to agreeing a new framework on Troubles legacy issues in Northern Ireland, the taoiseach (Irish prime minister) has said following a meeting with Sir Keir Starmer.

Micheál Martin described the meeting, which took place on Friday at Chequers, as “warm and constructive”.

The Irish government, along with all of Northern Ireland’s political parties and victims’ groups, oppose the existing UK Legacy Act.

In December, the Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn formally started the process to repeal the act.

“Very good progress has been made on legacy and the prime minister and I agreed that we are close to setting out a framework to address legacy issues, recognising its importance to victims and survivors, and to the wider community in Northern Ireland and across these islands,” Martin told reporters following the meeting.

When asked if the updated framework would be completed in a matter of weeks, he said: “I am not going to put a time down on it but it’ll be shortly.”

The Legacy Act was passed by the previous Conservative government in September 2023 despite widespread opposition to it.

It created a new legacy body, the the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR), to take over all Troubles-era cases from 1 May 2024, including those on the desk of the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

The act shut down all historical inquests.

The act’s most controversial element, the offer of conditional immunity to suspects, was disapplied following legal action by bereaved families.

The situation in Gaza and the war between Russia and Ukraine were also mentioned at the meeting.

“We discussed the catastrophic situation in Gaza – the need for a ceasefire, release of all hostages and a massive surge in humanitarian aid,” Martin said.

“We also committed to continue working together with the coalition of the willing to strengthen support for Ukraine and increase pressure on Russia to stop its war of aggression on the people of Ukraine.”

Their meeting comes after the tánaiste (Irish deputy minister) previously told a crowd in Oxford that the new agreement on dealing with legacy cases was “effectively there”.