Peadar Tóibín
Question:161. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade her views regarding a matter relating to British soldiers (details supplied). [38539/26]
View answerThursday, 21 May 2026
Questions (161)
Written answers
My thoughts are with the families of the five individuals killed in the Springhill massacre on 9 July, 1972.
I welcome the coroner’s findings, published on 30 April, which found that none of the five individuals should have been shot, and that the force used by British soldiers was not reasonable.
I know that the findings of the inquest are fundamentally important to those families.
They waited for decades, and worked for decades for these findings.
I also accept the coroner’s finding that “there is little prospect of any prosecution in these cases” given “the passage of time, the difficulties in establishing to the criminal standard who fired any lethal shots, and the associated difficulties in this case of even establishing the identity of the ciphered soldiers”.
This only serves to highlight the challenges faced by victims and families in their pursuit for justice.
That is why my attention is squarely focused on the timely and faithful implementation of the Joint Framework on legacy, agreed with the British government on 19 September 2025. Once implemented, legacy mechanisms will be equipped to provide routes to truth, accountability, and where possible, justice to victims and families.
Ultimately, it requires that both governments’ legislation must be fully in line with what was agreed under the Joint Framework, and must adhere to the European Convention on Human Rights.