27 February 2003:

REMEMBRANCE FUND COMMISSION

Justice for the Forgotten welcomes the announcement by An Taoiseach, Mr. Bertie Ahern, TD that the Government is to establish a Remembrance Fund Commission. The Remembrance Fund Commission will implement many of the recommendations of the Victim Commission, Mr John Wilson. This is an important recognition by the Government of the personal impact of the Northern conflict on victims in this jurisdiction.

We welcome the initial allocation of €3m this year. We hope to see this applied in part to acknowledgement payments to the families of each of the 140 or so persons who died in this State. The names of many of those who died and the circumstances of their deaths has passed from public consciousness. The Commission will have an important role in relation to memorials for the deceased and other commemorative projects. The Remembrance Fund Commission will also be able to provide assistance with ongoing medical expenses to injured survivors who are still in need of treatment.

We await the legislation necessary to establish the Remembrance Fund Commission and we would like to thank the many politicians who lobbied to have the Wilson recommendations implemented.