Mr. Paul Maskey:

I thank the witnesses for their report, which is very welcome. It contains a number of recommendations that I would like to discuss. I particularly commend Ms Urwin, who has attended the committee previously. We cannot but be inspired every time she comes into the committee due to the way she takes on the case for justice and truth. Mr. Brady touched earlier on some of the failures on the side of the Irish Government. Our own party colleague, Eddie Fullerton, was murdered in 1991 and the family are still seeking truth and justice in that case as well.

Recommendation No. 6 of the report refers to the consultation process. There are thousands of consultees to that process but it seems the Northern Ireland Office has not got the answers it wanted, so it is stalling the process before opening it up again for further consultation. Part of the recommendation is that the Irish Government should hold its own consultation but it then goes on to say, as Ms Urwin noted, that it might be necessary to hold off to see what the responses are. I do not know when those responses will arrive and we could be waiting another ten years for some of the responses to come forward from that consultation. Would it not be beneficial for the Government to initiate that in order to try to put pressure on the British Government, and certainly the Northern Ireland Office, to start to produce the results of that consultation process? That is one question.

Recommendation No. 7 states that there should not be an amnesty. I totally agree. For example, there is the soldier F scenario which has run right through the North of Ireland at this time. In my constituency, the Ballymurphy families are currently going through their court cases with regard to what happened to their loved ones. Yet, when some of those family members are going to the court on a near-daily basis, they have to drive past banners and posters about soldier F. It is very hurtful to those families, who have to go and listen to some of the soldiers who were involved in that atrocity in the early 1970s. It is very hurtful that some ex-members of the British forces and even some Members of the British Parliament are enmeshed in the amnesty issue. It is very damaging to the families who are suffering this on a daily basis that they have to drive past those banners. Some of those banners may be illegal, and I dare say most are illegal, given that there is a need for planning permission to put up banners and nobody has been seeking planning permission for them. Yet, the PSNI is standing with the hooded men who are putting up some of these banners, which is very hurtful. I believe the recommendation on amnesties is correct. People have suffered too long. They are seeking justice but that is not happening quickly enough, while others are causing hurt to those families by putting up these banners and posters. It can be very hurtful.

Recommendation No. 16 states that mental and physical health should be supported. Has that been forthcoming? Has the right treatment been given, whether for physical health or, probably more importantly given the length of time it has taken, for the psychological treatment that some of these people rightly deserve?