Debate contribution: Legacy Cases: Irish Government
Debate contribution by Mr Robbie Butler on .
- MLA
- Mr Robbie Butler
- Party at the time
- Ulster Unionist Party
- Date
- 19 May 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Private Members' Business
- Heading
- Legacy Cases: Irish Government
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5550369
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Sometimes, when we debate in here, our motions can be pulled apart. This is one occasion when the motion has been misrepresented by my MLA colleagues on the other side of the House. What was the purpose of tabling the motion? It was not to attribute blame or to retell or rewrite who did it worst or who did it best. It was about demanding more of the Irish Government, because it is very, very clear to anyone who is looking on that the Irish Government have not been in step. I am not going to make an excuse on behalf of the UK Government, because they have previously got it wrong. I am not going to make any excuses for anybody who wilfully acted outside the law. Everyone whom I have worked with in the Chamber says that they want justice and truth, and that they do not want to equate victims with those who perpetrated violence. Well, on the last one, it is most of us, maybe not all. What I did not hear anyone on the opposite Benches pick out from the motion or the amendment was the second piece, which was:
"to establish separate investigative processes addressing the legacy of the past".
I think that you deliberately did not speak about that part, because it is absolutely indefensible. Some excellent points were made during the debate. I do not want to pick out too many victims' names because some of the cases are incredibly sad, but I do not like to go beyond trying to get people to understand that those who served did so without fear or favour. I was a prison officer for a number of years: 32 of my colleagues in Northern Ireland were murdered. Brian Stack was a prison officer from the Republic of Ireland who was murdered by the Provisional IRA. There has been no justice and no truth. The Irish Government need to step up to the plate and walk in parallel with the UK Government, which is what we should do. Anyone who has information or access to the truth should tell that story. It was a dirty war. Many people suffered and lived in fear. However, what has happened since 1998?
Thank you. I wrote to Justice Minister McEntee a number of years ago, when I held the role of my party's deputy leader and Chief Whip. I was not satisfied with her answer. The Irish Government play with words. To this point, there has not been any discernible action on what happened. The Member for North Antrim talked about the Enniskillen bomb. We want to talk about the Omagh bomb. I also want to talk about what will happen if we do not address this issue. Our respective Governments need to step up and set the pace, but, sadly, the Irish Government are lacking in that regard. What has happened since 1998? Two more prison officers have been murdered: Davy Black and Adrian Ismay. That is not to mention the PSNI officers who have also been murdered. Officers are still under threat. If we do not address the past honestly, with full disclosure, we will, unfortunately, arm the terrorists of the future, because we will legitimatise what they do. We need to get to the point of truth, and those who need to lead the way are the British Government and the Irish Government. The parties that will not support the motion or the amendment are basically saying that we have a two-tier system that allows the Irish Government to drag their heels when it comes to the information that they have and, in some instances, the collusion involving an Garda Síochána. I am delighted that Mr Wilson shared his experience of what it was like to live on the border. There were decades of terrorism. It was not something new. The experience of those who lived on the border was very different from that of those who lived in towns. I hope that Members will reflect on the fact that this is not a gotcha moment; this is about asking for the Irish Government to step up to the plate, deliver what we would demand of our own Government in London and bring closure to victims who have suffered.
718 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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