Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses. We have already heard some powerful contributions. Some of the things the witnesses have said have provoked us, some of it is uncomfortable and challenging but that is what today is about. It is about listening and about recognition.

Mr. Bothwell was saying that people are sick of talking. He went on to refer the importance of talking. Maybe it is the quality of the conversation that is missing and maybe that is the gap we need to focus in on.

The whole idea of victimhood or victims challenges us; who is a victim and who is not? About five minutes away from here a friend of mine was killed, Martin Doherty, who was an IRA volunteer. There was a bomb being put in a pub with about 200 people in it. He stopped the people planting the bombs, saved about 200 lives and was killed himself. I do not think Martin would have thought of himself as a victim. Certainly his family members were victims. His sons were left without a father and his wife was left without a husband. Things like that challenge us. If people have lived in a State that discriminated against them, does that make them victims? If people are denied access to education, jobs or housing, does that make them victims? I suppose it does, but a lot of people do not feel like that. That is part of the conversation.

What Ms Twohig said about the image of the woman putting the hand on her child, blood coming away is powerful. It has been replicated thousands of times. We should not just remember the number of people who died, but also those who were injured. I do not think we have a list of those injured in the conflict. Does that mean they did not exist or were not important to their own families?

We have a huge body of work to do. I am one of these politicians who believe that if people need help or support, they should get it and I cannot understand why one group is discriminated against in terms of funding. What Mr. Donaldson said about location does not add up for me at all. It is one of the things that need to be addressed.

The witnesses are making us think, which is the most important thing. I hope those who are listening at home, who are more important than the people in this room, might find that this triggers something in them and they might want to do more.