Ms Maeve Lewis:

I believe it needs to be a statutory service, perhaps, as Ms McDonnell Byrne said, modelled on the advocacy service for people with disabilities. It needs to be staffed by people who have had trauma-informed training and be able to disseminate information widely. Ms McDonnell Byrne spoke about people who did not apply for redress. How are we going to reach all the people who will now be eligible for the many wonderful services that will be available to them? Many survivors still carry great shame and stigma and may not want to identify themselves as survivors. They may need support to do that in order that they can access services or entitlements. If they run into roadblocks - let us face it, the health service is a bureaucratic system - who is going to speak for them? That would be the major function of an advocacy service and I think Ms McDonnell Byrne would agree with that.