Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister will have heard a request from my party and others to open a passport office in Belfast because of the number of passport applications from the Six Counties. A great deal is done online now but there is still a demand for a passport office, in the consular service or elsewhere. I know some of the difficulties people face in emergencies etc. If the Department is making €60 million, that would lend weight to an argument for approaching the Minister for Finance and stating some of that money could be ring-fenced to staff an office in Belfast, Derry or somewhere in the Six Counties to accommodate the need there.

Turning to the increase in the numbers using emergency consular assistance, it is great to see so many more people being helped. The Minister mentioned that 292 people died abroad and help being provided by the consular services. The Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust, KBRT, does tremendous work in that area. I do not know if the Department funds or helps it in any way, given the work it and others do in repatriating those who have passed away abroad. Those stuck abroad are also sometimes in need of medical transfer back home. It is good to see a new consular strategy since so many more people are travelling and working abroad. There might, however, need to be additional funding to provide help. I refer to cases of distress or where there is no insurance, or not enough insurance, to help families cope in distressing circumstances.

Regarding North-South co-operation, I again have no problem in welcoming the additional €1 million allocated to the reconciliation fund. Much more could be spent in that area. Overall, it is about €6.5 million, not including money for the diaspora and other similar uses. I am referring to programme A, taking headings A6 and A7 together. We need to ensure the appropriate funds are available given the demands we are facing in the future. That includes demands for truth and reconciliation from both communities, as the Minister rightly recognised.

The Minister yesterday, or perhaps before that, also met the family of Mr. Patsy Kelly, an independent councillor murdered in Tyrone by the Ulster Defence Regiment, UDR. Families like that are seeking proper investigations. They are not always looking for financial support in trying to get to the truth. Sometimes, however, they do come up against logjams and then they need the support of the Minister and his Department. On occasion, that can involve legal costs because not every family has the wherewithal to get solicitors and other legal professionals on board. The Pat Finucane Centre has done tremendous work in this area in the past. It has helped represent some families who have achieved progress in seeking truth. There is, however, great frustration for families in other cases. I think that is nearly everything.