Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I was delighted to hear such an excellent, comprehensive presentation.

All of us are around long enough to have seen PEACE I, PEACE II, PEACE III and the witnesses referred to PEACE IV and its importance in trying to bring communities together, both north and south of the Border. In the context of Brexit it is a major concern that those moneys must be guaranteed beyond 2020. That needs to be highlighted here today because someone needs to step up and ensure that the excellent programmes being delivered by the commission and the community programmes to which Senator Craughwell referred, which may not have got down to where they needed, are able to continue. I am very conscious of that. Will the witnesses comment on that progress? The Special EU Programmes Body presented to us some time ago seemed unable to get any sense of funding beyond 2020.

I was interested in the mental health trauma network. We were given an estimate that approximately 90 people from the south were affected by outcomes of the Troubles, they might have been families of people in security forces, people who were murdered or otherwise. They were put through the ordinary HSE system. The Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney, was before the committee and gave a commitment that services similar to those available in the North for those who have undergone trauma would be made available here. Is that happening?

I was not surprised to read the figure of 150 people having been murdered on both sides since the Good Friday Agreement, and many thousands have been maimed. What is the degree to which they can avail of the process, and where does one decide that everyone has been given an opportunity to create peace? How does one deal with that in terms of dealing with the victims, the average of eight a year since the Good Friday Agreement was signed?

I do not know the figures, but I have dealt with a considerable number of people outside the country, and others who are living in the South who are also victims who have not been able to return to the North. Equally, there are others who have had to leave the country for various issues. How do they feed into the trauma experiences? They are missing their native areas. Are the witnesses in contact with them or how are we reaching them?