Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I should be here for most of the meeting. The Chairman has to leave before I do. Listening to Ms Thompson and reading the policy paper, my immediate reaction is, “If only she were the Minister for justice for Britain, Northern Ireland and the Republic.” What she says is just so practical and common sense and it is what we hear from the victims, or in my case Justice for the Forgotten. I chair that group, as the Chairman did before me. What Ms Thompson says is just so true to their story, their experience and what they have been looking for. Twenty-one years since the Good Friday Agreement, they are waiting 45 years now, or 46 this year. It is incredible.

Reading through the policy paper, one thing that really struck me was the statement that in the policy sphere “it is paramount that information is not seen to be withheld by any government or institution”. We know the blocks from the British Government on that information, even refusing to hand it to an independent international judicial figure. The paper also refers to an entitlement to justice “regardless of where a death happened”. There is a feeling that the Troubles related deaths that occurred in the Republic are not seen to be as important or to have the same parity as those that occurred in Northern Ireland. The paper also states: “It is imperative that both the UK and Irish governments provide the necessary resources to allow all conflict related deaths to be fully investigated.” This is what the families and the victims have been looking for. We have had questions here with our Ministers and meetings on a historical investigations unit, HIU, in the Republic and they always say no, that it is not part of the agreement. Will the witnesses – whoever wants to answer the question – see this happening in order that there is that parity?

Regarding amnesties, we know there are different views as to whether we should draw a line under everything and go for information retrieval and not look for anything else. How should these two be balanced? A lot of costs will be involved in much of what Ms Thompson says. Is she confident that these costs can be met? The witnesses have had discussions with our Government. Will they tell us how confident they are that the Government is taking seriously their recommendations and, equally, those of other authorities?