‘Peace money’ for terrorists but nothing for their victims

A letter from Edward O’Neill:
By Letters
Published 4th Apr 2022, 06:45 BST
Updated 4th Apr 2022, 09:05 BST
The scene at the The Houben Centre on Crumlin Road, Belfast, where a security alert took place on March 25.The scene at the The Houben Centre on Crumlin Road, Belfast, where a security alert took place on March 25.
The scene at the The Houben Centre on Crumlin Road, Belfast, where a security alert took place on March 25.

Some time ago I applied for a medical card [entitling some Irish citizens to free healthcare] in the Republic on the basis of my injuries received in the Parnell Street explosion where my father was also murdered by the UVF.

I was told by an HSE official: “Sure you got millions from the state in compensation; what would you need a medical card for?”

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I replied: “Nope. You must be confusing me with the IRA / UVF / UFF etc who have done very well out of the Good Friday Agreement.”

Letter to the editorLetter to the editor
Letter to the editor

Duly applying three times, and three times being told my file was lost, I gave up in frustration. Draw your own conclusions.

I read now that up to €12 million of “peace money” may be withheld because of what the UVF did in Belfast [the bomb scare targeting Simon Coveney] – although honestly I have more chance of winning the Euromillions, Irish lottery and UK lottery together than that happening.

The murder of Robert McCartney in Magennis’s Bar by the IRA – where all the witnesses must have been squeezed into the toilets like a Japanese bullet train to have seen and heard nothing – and the murder of Paul Quinn, prove that the Irish and British states, and Garda and the PSNI, have no desire to pursue republicans for anything let alone murder .

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Let’s not mention the continued organised crime by republicans along the border and the loyalists brazenly dealing drugs in cahoots with republican gangs.

These criminal activities are being effectively ignored and tolerated. Michael McDowell himself, a former justice minister, openly admitted there is an effective amnesty in place for republicans post-1998 in the Republic of Ireland.

Where was I? Oh yeah. What has the Good Friday Agreement done for victims and survivors?

Edward O’Neill, Dublin

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