The membership of the Independent Reporting Commission (IRC) was announced today following the Review Meeting of the Fresh Start and Stormont House Agreements.
Four Commissioners are to be appointed to the Independent Reporting Commission which is being established by the Irish and UK Governments as an international body, as provided for under the Fresh Start Agreement. The Commission will promote progress towards ending paramilitary activity connected with Northern Ireland.
The Government has nominated Mr. Tim O’Connor to serve as a Commissioner on the IRC.
Tim O’Connor is a former Secretary General to the President and a former Irish diplomat who was involved in the negotiations which led to the Good Friday Agreement and served as the inaugural Joint Secretary appointed by the Irish Government to the North South Ministerial Council in Armagh. Mr O’Connor has also served as Consul General of Ireland in New York.
Following the announcement, Minister Flanagan said:
“I am delighted the two Governments and the Northern Ireland Executive have today announced their appointments to the Independent Reporting Commission. All four Commissioners have a wealth of expertise and are well equipped to deal with the diverse issues relevant to the Commission’s work.
"Today’s announcement is an important step forward in establishing the Commission which will have a crucial role in our collective work to deal with the legacy of paramilitarism in society. We are all committed to working together in order to help and support communities to move forward with confidence and contribute to a truly reconciled Northern Ireland.
I am pleased that Tim O’Connor is available to serve as the Irish Government’s appointee to the Independent Reporting Commission. In his career in the civil service Tim was involved in the peace process over many years and this is experience he can now bring to his work as a Commissioner on the Independent Reporting Commission.”
The other appointees to the Independent Reporting Commission are: Mr. Mitchell Reiss; Professor Monica McWilliams and Mr. John McBurney.
Earlier today, Minister Flanagan delivered the opening address at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s annual Reconciliation Networking Forum in the Skainos Centre in East Belfast. The Forum brought together groups supported by the Department’s Reconciliation Fund as well as other organisations and individuals working on reconciliation on the island of Ireland.
Minister Flanagan also met with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, James Brokenshire, and participated in the Review Meeting for Implementation of the Fresh Start and Stormont House Agreements.
Speaking after the meetings, the Minister said:
“Today’s Review Meeting was an important opportunity for the two Governments and the Northern Ireland Executive to come together and work on our shared objective to achieve full implementation of the Stormont House and Fresh Start Agreements, which provide a vital framework for Northern Ireland in the period ahead.”