£32m for review of 2,000 unsolved NI murders
A special unit being set up within the Police Service of Northern Ireland to review nearly 2,000 unsolved murders over 30 years is expected to take up to six years to carry out its task, it was revealed tonight.
Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy announced he was committing between £30m (€43.4m) and £32m (€46.3m) for the task but admitted he did not know if it was going to be enough.
The Bloody Sunday inquiry into 13 deaths has already cost the Exchequer at least £150m (€217m).
Mr Murphy said of the new police probe: “We will keep this under review, as time goes by we will see whether it is necessary to have any more money but at the moment we think it is sufficient to be able to do the job.”
Mr Murphy announced the new investigation in an effort to provide closure to families who lost loved ones during the Troubles but didn’t really know what had happened.
Mr Murphy said: “The (British) government is committed to doing all that it can to help Northern Ireland deal with its troubled past and our pledge to provide the resources to look at unresolved deaths underpins that commitment.”
Speaking at a joint news conference in Stormont with PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde he added: “We believe that Northern Ireland needs a tailored approach to deal with the pain, grief and anger associated with its past.
“Part of this approach is the need to address, in a systematic and comprehensive way, all of the unresolved deaths that took place during the Troubles.”
He said today’s announcement for funding would allow the Chief Constable to establish a new unit to expand work already under way to cover all unresolved deaths in a way that would command the confidence of the wider community.
He said: “This is sensitive, painstaking and complex work and in many cases is unlikely to lead to any prosecutions.
“But it is important work if we are to provide answers to the questions so many people have about the death of their loved ones.”
