Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We are under pressure timewise, but perhaps I might throw something into the mix. The Eames-Bradley recommendation of a £12,000 reconciliation payment was controversial and failed. As we have not mentioned money or economics today, I think I should throw it into the mix. Some 3,600 people were killed during the Troubles and 40,000 injured, not to mention those affected psychologically or the relatives of those who were physically hurt or died. We engage in significant outreach work. We visit Northern Ireland and have visited east Belfast. Recently we were in parts of Derry visiting the Nationalist community and have visited Loyalist and Unionist communities in Belfast. The people are talking about the peace dividend, not necessarily on an individual basis but in communities. They are asking what has been achieved since 1998, whether there are jobs or extra benefits as a result of the peace process. What weight does Amnesty International place on the economic dividend for communities? The committee constantly raises issues about the A5 and Narrow Water bridge projects which would bring tangible economic benefits to regions and generate greater economic and societal prosperity. What weight does Amnesty International place on the economic dividend as a way of dealing with past neglect in communities that have been hurt and left out of prosperity in the past? What weight does it place on it, not on an individual level - I do not want go into specific payments such as that included in the Eames-Bradley recommendation - but at the collective level for communities that have lost out?