FUNDING NEEDED TO KEEP JUSTICE FOR THE FORGOTTEN OPEN
Posted on May 25, 2010 at 11:38 AM
Justice for the Forgotten will have to close its doors by the end of June unless they can source a new funder. The Government is refusing to provide them with any further funding and they have been seeking to identify alternatives over the past months. They are now in a position that they have no money to keep going in the short term, which means they may not be in a position to avail of funding in the long term.
It is my belief that the Government is reneging on its obligations under the Good Friday Agreement. Justice for the Forgotten is the only dedicated organisation representing and supporting victims of the Northern conflict in the Republic of Ireland and they feel that they are being discriminated against because they are located at this side of the border All victim support groups in the North are adequately funded and will be for the foreseeable future.
Justice for the Forgotten supports not only the bereaved families and survivors
of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, the Dublin bombings of 1972 and
1973 but also those of the Film Centre bombing the Miami Showband bombing; the Dublin Airport bombing; the Dundalk bombing and the Castleblayney bombing among others. They also represent and support others bereaved or injured in single atrocities in Northern Ireland but where family members now reside in this jurisdiction. In fact there are many families who moved from the North following atrocities and they regard Justice for the Forgotten as a valuable resource. They represent people from both communities and their services are available to anyone bereaved or injured as a result of the Northern conflict, regardless of religious or political affiliation. They continue to play a very important role and liaise with many of the victim support groups in the North which is freely acknowledged by those groups.
In his response to a Dail Question, No: 134, raised by me in June 2009 the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform stated that his first priority was to ensure the long -term expenses of survivors of incidents in this jurisdiction arising from the conflict in the North would be met.
This is too narrow a focus. I would remind the Minister that his predecessor, Mr McDowell, stated that nine million Euros was earmarked for the Remembrance Commission to be made available as needed. I would be obliged if the Minister could advise me if there is a balance remaining in this fund.
Given the valuable work done by the Justice for the Forgotten group it would be shameful if this group was forced to close due to lack of funding. I would urge the Minister to engage directly with this group and to ensure that funding is put in place to enable them to continue their valuable support for victims of the troubles.
