NI victims' groups: Truth more important then compensation

Proposals to pay compensation to all victims of the North's conflict are a distraction, a nationalist victims’ campaigner said today.

Families are demanding the truth about disputed killings in which the state may have been involved and talk of money is horrible, Paul O’Connor from the Pat Finucane Centre added.

Relatives of paramilitary victims, members of the security forces and civilians who were killed would all be entitled to the same amount – £12,000, according to the Consultative Group on the Past.

The body chaired by former Church of Ireland primate Lord Robin Eames and ex-Policing Board vice-chairman Denis Bradley is to recommend the idea on Wednesday amid a backlash from unionist leaders and some victims’ groups.

Mr O’Connor said: “For us the important thing is the truth recovery, it isn’t about a one-off payment, it is a horrible discussion, it is just about money.”

The Consultative Group is an independent panel set up to deal with the legacy of Northern Ireland’s troubles, during which more than 3,000 people died.

Former First Minister of Northern Ireland Lord David Trimble and current First Minister Peter Robinson have said there would be a lot of anger at equating innocent victims with those who perpetrated atrocities.

Widows of policemen killed have expressed hurt and Victims Commissioner Mike Nesbitt, whose role is to advocate their interests, also questioned the idea of a payment.

Mr O’Connor added: “It is a very unfair burden to put on families as well. There’s a lot of people shot dead that the British army said were rioters in very contested circumstances, but there were people in Derry and Ballymurphy (west Belfast) not doing anything and certainly nothing warranting a death sentence.

“I wish this had been at the end of the Eames/Bradley process rather than the start, there are more important things to deal with.”

The Consultative Group is also expected to recommend the creation of a five-year legacy commission, appointed by the Irish and British governments, to deal with the past – and to say there should be no further public inquiries.

The total cost of the proposals would be £300m (€315m) and the Irish Government will be asked to make a significant contribution.