I move:
That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide for the State to make an application to the European Court of Human Rights, in the event of the enactment of British legislation granting amnesty in respect of criminal acts in or relating to the North of Ireland; and to provide for related matters.
There is an incredibly urgent need for this Aontú Bill. We urge the Government to get real in terms of fulfilling the main aim of the Bill. It mandates the Government to warn the British Government now that if the latter implements its legacy Bill, the Irish Government will bring the British Government to the European Court of Human Rights. I thank Deputy Wynne for co-signing the Bill.
As Members might be aware, the British legacy Bill is nearing the end of its journey through Westminster. It is a devastating blow against the victims and survivors of British state violence in the North of Ireland. It is impossible to overstate the anger, hurt and heartbreak the legacy Bill is causing. Many families have battled for decades to achieve truth and justice for their loved ones but are now faced with a future where that door to truth and justice will be locked shut. The British Bill will give murderers an amnesty for the most vicious and heinous murders that have been committed in the North of Ireland in the past 50 years. It will literally allow people to get away with murder.
So many families lost loved ones to British murder, collusion and cover-up. In some cases, they have been working hard through the past 50 years to try to get to the truth. The British Bill will enshrine in law the cover-up that happened at the time of those murders. It is the son and heir of the collusion and cover-up that happened at the time of the murders. So many families have fought for several generations to try to get truth and justice. Some of them have shed blood, sweat and tears in their efforts to get to justice. Many are at inquest or investigation stage or are having their cases investigated by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland. Incredibly, the legacy Bill would shut down all those investigations. Investigations that are already up and running and shedding light on the truth will be shut down if the legacy Bill goes through.
This Tory Party legacy Bill is a unilateral move that significantly damages the relationship between Britain and Ireland. It is unique in enjoying the opposition of every political party on the island of Ireland, North and South. It drives a coach and four through the bilateral process that created the Good Friday Agreement in the first place. The British Government now has the cheek to ask the Irish Government to co-operate with that Bill even though it has been giving two fingers to the Irish Government for the duration of the Bill going through Westminster. The British Bill creates an independent commission for reconciliation and information recovery. It is another example of the evolution of language in society, changing the usage of words such that they have nothing of their actual meaning. How can the word "Reconciliation" be put into the title of the legacy Bill when the people whom it states it seeks to help will not receive any reconciliation from it whatsoever? It deletes human rights. It is the antithesis of a liberal democracy. The foundation of a liberal democracy is the idea that you can achieve truth and justice for violent crimes that happened against you or your family. The legacy Bill deletes that foundation.
It is incredibly frustrating that the British Government is being allowed to get away with this. I know the Government has stated that it may bring the British Government to the European Court of Human Rights if it proceeds, but that is not enough. Deputy Feighan and I visited Westminster two weeks ago. Our friends there told us to play this card now rather than waiting until the horse has bolted and the legacy Bill has been put in place. They urged us to, please, warn the British Government that Ireland will bring it to the European Court of Human Rights if it proceeds on this trajectory.
