Northern Ireland Community Relations Council - About Us - News - Government launches consultation on Eames/Bradley recommendations

24 June 2009

The Government has today invited the people of Northern Ireland to formally respond to the recommendations in the final report of the Consultative Group on the Past. Co-Chaired by Lord Eames and Denis Bradley, the group published their report on dealing with the past at the end of January and today, Secretary of State Shaun Woodward told Parliament that the time is right for the people of Northern Ireland to have their say. The consultation will run until October 2, 2009.

Shaun Woodward said: “Dealing with the legacy of the events of the last 40 years remains one of the greatest challenges still facing Northern Ireland.

“The size of the challenge was underlined by the controversy which surrounded the report by the Consultative Group on the Past when it was published earlier this year.

“Their recommendation for a recognition payment was the subject of fierce and heated debate to the exclusion of the other recommendations. I have already made the Government’s position on the recognition payments clear.

“But in a democracy we must allow all voices to be heard and it is essential that there is careful consideration given to the Eames/ Bradley proposals and I want to start that process today.

“Building a shared future which is not overshadowed by the past cannot be imposed by the Government on the people of Northern Ireland, it must come from the ground up.

“Therefore I would appeal to political leaders and the wider community in Northern Ireland to engage fully in a study of the proposals, look carefully at each of these recommendations to find the points of agreement on those issues which remain divisive.

“Whatever the outcome of this consultation, the Government will continue to work with the people of Northern Ireland on the path to reconciliation.”

The Consultative Group on the Past was established in June 2007 to:

“consult across the community on how Northern Ireland society can best approach the legacy of the events of the past 40 years; and to make recommendations, as appropriate, on any steps that might be taken to support Northern Ireland society in building a shared future that is not overshadowed by the past.”

The Group was co-chaired by Lord Eames and Denis Bradley. The six other members of the Group were David Porter, Jarlath Burns, Willie John McBride, Rev Lesley Carroll, James Mackey, and Elaine Moore.

The Consultative Group launched their Report on 28 January 2009. The Report and the 31 recommendations are available on the Consultative Group’s website: www.cgpni.org

The Government’s consultation paper on the recommendations of the Consultative Group is available on the this website under the Public Consultation page, current consultations.

The consultation will end on 2 October 2009. Responses to the consultation paper can be made in writing to the Legacy Policy Unit, c/o Room B3.18, Block B, CastleBuildings, Stormont Estate, Belfast, BT4 3SG.

The report can be downloaded here (this link takes you to the NIO site and the report in pdf format)