Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 22 September 2016
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence
Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust: Mr. Colin Bell
2:30 pm
Mr. Colin Bell:
People fund-raise for us. It is amazing. There are fund-raisers going on throughout Ireland every weekend. I am here today but tomorrow night I will attend a Unionist mayor's ball in Newtownabbey, County Antrim. We brought his grandson home from Australia. On Sunday morning, I will be in Ballinlough, County Meath, for a truck run. On Sunday night, I will be in Dromahair, County Leitrim, to speak at a novena. Next week, I will attend a cheque presentation in Dungarvan, County Waterford. People throughout Ireland fund-raise for us all the time.
Fundraising is not a prerequisite in that when we bring someone home, we do not expect to be paid back but families do fund-raise. If the person who died was a member of the GAA, for example, the club will fund-raise. The trust is not short of money. All I would like is that every penny that we get is used for what it is meant for.
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