TÁNAISTE MICHEÁL MARTIN has said he will meet with Irish American political leaders while on a visit to the US to discuss the UK’s Troubles Legacy Bill, which would exempt people from prosecution for crimes committed during The Troubles.
Speaking in New York today ahead of a UN Sustainable Development Goals summit, Martin said that he has sought legal advice on the situation regarding the bill, adding that he would make use of the opportunity provided by the summit to communicate with US politicians.
He also said he would like to meet with US President Joe Biden while in New York but that there were no formal appointments to do so.
“We will discuss the legacy bill that has been passed by the UK Parliament and we’ll be articulating our concern at that legislation,” he said.
“I’m awaiting legal options on that and a legal paper in respect of the legacy issue, and I will go to government with that advice and consider it further.
“We will not lose the opportunity to make those in the political sphere in the US aware of our concerns about the human rights compliance of that legislation.”
The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill includes a form of limited immunity for some perpetrators of crimes committed during the conflict and would also prevent future civil cases and inquests into Troubles offences.
All of the main political parties in Northern Ireland and victims’ groups are opposed to the Bill.
The Tánaiste was also questioned about budget measures, where he indicated that there would be interventions by government to reduce the cost of public services such as education and health.
When asked about further reductions in public transport fares, he said:
“We await proposals from the Minister [for Transport], but I was a strong advocate, one of the earliest advocates for the cut in transport costs during the crisis when we put forward the idea of young people having the 50% cut, because I feel alone does it increase participation in public transport. But it also deals with the climate change agenda.”
After the last Cabinet meeting, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar also mentioned that the reducing the cost of transport fares was being considered.
Martin also hinted today at the expansion of the free school books scheme into secondary level.
At the press briefing in New York, Martin said he thinks it is possible for embattled Garda Commissioner Drew Harris to regain the trust of rank and file members of the force.
He said he was “not comfortable” with the idea of holding no confidence ballots during an industrial relations dispute.
“I’m not comfortable with the idea that we’re moving into a space where there’s ballots in relation to confidence in, for example, the Garda Commissioner, or in another organization, the chief executive officer,” he said.
“We’ve tried and trusted means of recruiting people for very significant and important positions in Irish life.
“And it’s a dangerous enough precedent if we go down the road of saying that we can every now and again have a vote of confidence in not just the Garda but all organisations.”
Earlier today, the Department of Foreign Affairs announced that Ireland would provide at least €284 million this year in support for food, agriculture and nutrition programmes around the world.
Martin, who is also Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, said that “Ireland is a world leader in tackling hunger. Our history of famine has ensured that ending hunger is one of the core priorities at the heart of our international engagement.”
“I’m very alarmed at where the world is right now, where it’s crisis after crisis, mainly caused by conflict, by climate. And we do need to generate a renewed sense of urgency collectively, in terms of implementing the reforms in respect of the Sustainable Development Goals.”
The new pledges include €4.2 million to support the UN’s Food Systems Hub over three years; €2.5 million to support a new Women’s Economic Empowerment initiative in partnership with IFAD (the International Fund for Agricultural Development) and the Irish League of Credit Unions: and €2 million to the ‘Grain from Ukraine’ initiative announced by President Zelenskyy to help counter the impact of the war on developing countries.
“This Summit is a crucial moment to take stock of progress against the SDG targets and create real momentum to deliver these important goals,” Martin said.
“Ireland believes that transformation of food systems must be at the heart of our work to reinvigorate the SDGs. Hunger is again increasing globally. We are in a global food and nutrition crisis, one that is characterised by more frequent shocks. Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine has added an additional dimension of uncertainty and volatility.
“Building resilience must become an urgent core strategy. This is easy to say but much harder to do. But we need to step up and build capacity across food, health, education, economic and governance systems.”
With reporting by Christina Finn
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