new Framework for Addressing Northern ireland’s Past Unveiled
The British and Irish governments are poised to announce a new joint framework designed to address the legacy of northern Ireland’s Troubles, with a public unveiling expected later today. The agreement follows a year of negotiations and aims to establish a pathway for investigations and data recovery related to past conflicts.
Central to the framework is the reform of the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery, originally established under the UK’s legacy Act. The body will be renamed the Legacy Commission and undergo critically important changes, including the creation of an independent oversight board and stricter conflict of interest protocols for its staff. The Commission’s mandate will focus on investigating cases and pursuing criminal prosecutions where sufficient evidence exists.
Alongside the Legacy Commission, a separate body – the Independent Commission for Information Recovery (ICIR) – will be established to provide reports to families seeking information about the past. A key feature of the ICIR will be a mechanism mirroring that used by the Disappeared Commission, protecting information provided by intermediaries representing paramilitary groups from being used in criminal proceedings.
The Irish goverment has committed to enacting legislation to ensure full cooperation from authorities in the Republic of Ireland with the reformed legacy institutions, and will also undertake investigations within its own jurisdiction.A dedicated fund of €25 million will be allocated to support families navigating the legacy processes, and a new legacy unit will be established within An Garda Síochána to serve as a central point of contact for related cases.
This new approach comes after the Irish government initiated an interstate case against the UK at the European Court of Human rights in 2024, arguing that the existing legislation violated the European Convention on Human Rights. The governments anticipate that once the new framework is enshrined in law, this legal challenge can be revisited.
The UK’s Labour government, which inherited the controversial Legacy act from its predecessor, has pledged to repeal and replace it. Prime Minister Kier Starmer and Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn have both committed to fundamental reform of the legacy process.High-level discussions involving the Taoiseach and Tánaiste have been instrumental in reaching this agreement.
Notably,the new arrangements bear a strong resemblance to the legacy provisions outlined in the 2014 Stormont House Agreement,a previous attempt at addressing the past that ultimately failed to be implemented. While the translation of this new framework into legislation is expected to take time,the governments have signaled a commitment to transferring ongoing investigations in Northern Ireland to the newly established institutions. political parties in northern Ireland have already been briefed on the details of the plan, which represents a broader effort to improve Anglo-Irish relations following the change in government in the UK.
