Mr. Tim Dalton:

It is very important. In the period leading up to the Good Friday Agreement, I was part of the back-up Civil Service team. Every element of the agreement is relevant and important. Without the little pieces in the agreement, some of which were more difficult than others, such as the release of a large number of prisoners and the constitutional changes, there would have been no agreement. The reconciliation aspect was a core aspect. I am not saying that without it, there would have been no agreement but every element of the agreement was significant and the fact reconciliation was included demonstrated at that time the importance everyone attached to it. Of course, the people of Ireland voted for that agreement, which contained the element of reconciliation.

Like others on the commission, I have met families who have lost people in the conflict. Some were disappeared, while others were not and simply lost their lives in the conflict. Outcomes that enable them to recall their loved ones with dignity are important, and outcomes that do not, such as those that prevent them from having a burial and closing the sad chapter, remain painful. It is difficult to think of this in terms of happiness but we have seen happiness in the faces of people who, after a number of years, have managed to find the remains of their loved ones. It brings enormous relief and happiness. It is not happiness in the sense of recovering alive someone who was lost but it produces a great deal of relief in families. In the three outstanding cases, there is still great sadness. That is why we regard it as an honour to have the opportunity to bring happiness to those people at long last or some measure of relief from suffering. We too have met Mr. Oliver McVeigh and we are very aware of the pain his family are suffering.