Northern Ireland: Legacy of the Past
Debate between Tonia Antoniazzi and Robin Swann
Tonia Antoniazzi
I thank the hon. Member for his service on the Committee, where his background in academia played an important role. Sir Declan Morgan brought integrity to the commission, and I thank him personally for his work. The evidence shows that it was not him but the set-up of the institution he was leading that caused it to fail.
Robin Swann (South Antrim) (UUP)
I thank the Chair of the Select Committee for the evidence sessions. The Northern Ireland Troubles Bill will go into Committee of the whole House, so those sessions will be the only opportunity for witnesses to come put forward and give their testimonies on the Bill and the current legislation. Forty-two amendments and five new clauses have already been tabled, which shows the interest in it and the further work that needs to be done on it.
On the warm words of the Irish Government, I have been involved in those conversations for 14 years and heard a lot of warm words, but we have never seen anything on legacy from the Irish Government, either on paper or in delivery. Will the Chair of the Select Committee continue to put pressure on her own Front Benchers to produce some action in that regard?
In one recommendation, the Committee suggests that the
“exclusion of…Troubles-related sexual crimes from the commission’s remit”
ought to be addressed in the Bill. In that case, will the Chair of the Select Committee support my amendment 4, which would do that?
Tonia Antoniazzi
I thank the hon. Member for his contribution and for our engagement. It is unfortunate that he is unable to join the Committee—I find it disappointing, but that is how the procedures work. I have heard what he and others have said about the Irish Government’s warm words. As a Committee, we will continue to have dialogue and very frank conversations with them, and with our Government, to get the answers that he and others in Northern Ireland require.