Mr. Joe O'Donnell:

There are two things that are key to many of the conversations we have had today, which are worth mentioning. It goes back to the point I made at the start around expectations and assumptions. When people signed up to the Good Friday Agreement, certainly when it was followed through at Weston Park and St. Andrews, the assumption and expectation from communities right across the board was that certain things would happen, that certain things would fall into places and certain activities would take place. That is part of what this committee is trying to do and what the current talks are trying to do, but that was around a bill of rights, a process of some form of civic engagement, if not the civic forum, then how that collaboration would take place. We were trying to put in place a process that would work up and down, in terms of interfaces and barrier removal, working out how regeneration would happen and when and how we would be part of the barrier removal. For example the media is currently highlighting the barriers to the employment of former prisoners, and their ability to engage in employment.

These are some of the issues. When we talk about a timeframe for barrier removal, the majority of people have an open view of the future. I have never in my life met a person who voted for a 40 ft. wall in their back garden. People want to see a plan, the planning application, and know there are the resources and budget and know what government departments and bodies will be involved and if there will be investment in regeneration. They do not want to be left in a wilderness, where more conflict can happen when the barriers are removed.

These two important points run across many of the conversations we have had today.