The Government will make a decision before 17 January about whether it will take a case to the European Court of Human Rights over the UK's Legacy Bill, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told the Dáil today.
The controversial bill passed its final hurdle at Westminster in September after MPs voted to overturn amendments made in the House of Lords, allowing the bill to proceed unchanged.
The plan, which will close down all civil and criminal Troubles cases - including inquests - from next May, has been vociferously opposed by all victims' groups and the political parties.
Mr Varadkar said there had been "no true engagement" with the Irish Government about the controversial legislation which has been strongly opposed by victims of the Troubles.
He said an interstate case would need to be taken on "solid grounds" and the Government was awaiting advice from the Attorney General.
He was responding to Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín, who said that the Government had three weeks to decide on the issue.
He added that the Irish Government was a "bystander" on the Good Friday Agreement.
Mr Tóibín said the UK's Conservative Party had admitted that the purpose of the legislation was to stop cases being taken against the British army.
