Mr. John Beggs:

I will address some of the other questions. I welcome the comments on the need for continued peace funding beyond 2021. Currently, we have a commitment through the SEUPB and the victims and survivors service for funding up to 2021. Indeed, we attended a launch event yesterday for €17.6 million in funding for victims, survivors and funded groups to do sterling work around advocacy and health and well-being support. There is a programme of work to do. We have no commitment beyond 2021 and no one else does either. Certainly, we will advocate strongly, demonstrate the positive outcomes the current Peace IV programme will deliver and lobby hard to have that commitment extended beyond 2021. As Ms Thompson outlined in her presentation, the legacy institutions and bodies which are not yet established are not likely to be established for at least two more years. They are likely to run for at least five years from then. As such, this work will go on well into the next decade. It will be at least ten years. There is a need for continued peace funding alongside that to make it happen and to support victims and survivors. It is critical. We welcome that comment, therefore.

On the regional trauma network, there are plans in place, as Ms Thompson outlined, to establish a mental health trauma service in the North working with health and care trusts. It is still at an early stage of development but there was some funding through the Northern Ireland Executive before its collapse to get it set up. There is further work to do on the cross-Border, North-South dimension. While good work is being done at community and voluntary level with groups which are funded to do cross-Border work, work is outstanding at statutory level to set up those partnerships, North and South. We sit on a partnership board which is overseeing the regional trauma network and we will continue to lobby hard for that cross-Border engagement.

The 150 deaths which have occurred since 1998 were raised. We do not have a cut-off point of 1998 in the Commission. Our legislation runs beyond that and we see many people who have been injured post-1998 and who need support and we treat them as victims and survivors. We also work with the Commissioner for Children and Young People to provide support and develop services for younger people in particular. That is ongoing work.