Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I acknowledge the gentlemen and their group for the presentation they have made. It was succinct and up to date. I welcome the fact that when mentioning those initiatives that remain outstanding, untouched or unmoved in the peace agreement and the commitments that have been made but have not yet been responded to in the way one would have expected, it is good to hear that the new administration is making the right soundings. Whether that can translate into the right impact and the right initiatives remains to be seen. The witnesses have responded to a fair number of detailed questions, which is appreciated. We in this committee look forward to visiting Colombia, building on they have said and seeking responses from relevant authorities on the outstanding items that have not been progressed in the manner wished for. It is important to know and to see what exactly is contained the programme for government of the new administration in regard to how it plans to deal with those outstanding items referred to. It is great and yet grave at the same time. We are proud of the committee, the Government and other Oireachtas Members to whom Senator O'Reilly referred who have built on the experience we have in this country regarding conflict resolution, notwithstanding the fact that items are outstanding there but not to the same grave extent as remains the case in Colombia. I hope we can both learn from our experiences and assist one another in ensuring that progress is made in both jurisdictions. We look forward to that and to the engagement of the committee. We can touch base again upon the committee's return to share information in order to see what can be done to progress matters in the future.