Tánaiste Micheál Martin has welcomed the statement made by Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn providing further detail on how the British government will take forward its manifesto commitment to repeal and replace the Legacy Act.
"Having discussed this issue with Hilary Benn on his first day in office, I am glad to see the work of replacing the Legacy Act is progressing," Mr Martin said.
"I have been clear since day one on the grave issues with the Act as it now stands, in particular the fundamental question of its compliance with the European Convention of Human Rights and the failure to command the support of victims.
"I welcome his commitment to establishing legacy mechanisms which command the confidence of communities and of victims and survivors. The Secretary of State's intention to reverse the current prohibition on new civil proceedings, and to propose measures to allow inquests previously halted to proceed is also welcome."
Mr Martin said he would study the statement made by the British government today and continue close engagement with them on the detail of this "vitally important issue".
"We owe it to victims, survivors and their loved ones to get this right," he added.
"As we take this work forward, the needs of victims and the obligation to ensure a framework compatible with the European Convention of Human Rights, will remain central to this Government’s approach."
The British government dropped an appeal against part of a court judgment that struck out controversial aspects of the previous administration's Legacy Act.
The Labour government has already vowed to repeal and replace the legislative provision introduced by the last Conservative government that offered a form of conditional immunity to perpetrators of crimes during the conflict.
Immunity was to be given to those individuals who cooperated with a new truth recovery mechanism designed to provide bereaved families answers about the circumstances of their loved ones' deaths.
Labour has also committed to reversing the Legacy Act's contentious ban on civil cases and inquests related to Troubles incidents.
In February, a High Court judge in Belfast declared several elements of the act incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
The provisions included the offer of conditional immunity and the discontinuation of civil cases and inquests.
In June, the previous British government began a legal appeal against those findings.
'First step' in repealing and replacing Legacy Act
In a written statement to the House of Commons, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn confirmed his government was dropping the appeal on the incompatibility with the ECHR.
Mr Benn said this was the "first step" in fulfilling the government's commitment to repeal and replace the act.
He said victims and survivors have "felt ignored" by the previous government's approach to legacy, which has been "clearly rejected across communities in Northern Ireland".
"The conditional immunity provisions, in particular, have been opposed by all of the Northern Ireland political parties and by many victims and survivors, as well as being found by the Court to be unlawful," Mr Benn said.
"The action taken today to abandon the grounds of appeal against the section 4 Human Rights Act declarations of incompatibility demonstrates that this government will take a different approach.
"It underlines the government's absolute commitment to the Human Rights Act, and to establishing legacy mechanisms that are capable of commanding the confidence of communities and of victims and survivors."
Mr Benn stressed the importance of addressing the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland.
"The Government recognises that achieving absolute consensus on these issues is immensely difficult," he said.
"That is demonstrated by the series of failed attempts since 1998 to implement effective legacy mechanisms.
"Indeed, even the Good Friday Agreement, which brought peace to Northern Ireland after decades of violence, was opposed by some due to the very challenging policy of releasing early from prison those individuals convicted for serious Troubles-related offences."
Mr Benn said a consultation exercise would be undertaken to gauge the views of victims and survivors.
Additional reporting PA
