Mr. John Teggart:

I welcome all the kind words from Senator Blaney and Deputy Brendan Smith. I would like to comment on Senator Blaney's question about Archbishop Robin Eames and Mr. Denis Bradley. Myself, Carmel and others where there on the day the Eames-Bradley report came out. One has to remember that this is the way the British Government works. That evening, it took away the first payment that would have been made to family members. A lot of family members could have used that for sending their kids to university and things like that. That was the first thing to be implemented from the Eames-Bradley report. It was taken off the table overnight by the British Government, without any reason at all. That is how sincere it is about different agreements. From then on, that has been the way it treats other agreements - with a long finger - and it has done so many times.

One must also remember other mechanisms that were put in place, such as the coroner's inquest coronial system. People who should have known better tried to stop the inquest, and stop people like ourselves, because it was independent and because the evidence did not hold up.

The only way the British Government could have been involved in that at all was the lack of resources. We had the Lord Chief Justice saying we need to clear up the deaths of 95 victims of the conflict and he was confident he would do it in five years. There was a lack of resources, however. It took us actually taking the Government and the First Minister to court for the release of the funding for the inquest. We had to do that also. They were actually choking the system so it would not work and they are still doing the same. Many families are waiting on reports from the police ombudsman. That office is severely underfunded. That is the kind of thing the likes of this committee can also recommend. These things are put in place to help victims like ourselves. People are waiting on inquests because the reports are unfinished years later. Mr. Ó Muirigh and Ms Quinn could perhaps comment on the rest of that.

That, however, shows the sincerity of the British Government when it starts bringing in all these different things like the Eames-Bradley report, the Stormont House Agreement and the new deal. It does not implement them. It believes that if something does not suit it, it can take it off the table and do things overnight, which has happened in the past.