Relatives of those killed during the Troubles have welcomed a £1.3 million British government package aimed at easing their suffering. It includes the setting up of an education bursary scheme to help children who have lost parents.
The announcement was made yesterday as preparations begin to release the first of the 400 republican and loyalist prisoners expected to be set free over the next few weeks.
However, the DUP described the financial aid package as "a farce". Mr Ian Paisley jnr said: "A total of 33,000 people have been directly injured by the Troubles. This `compensation' works out at less than £40 a person. By contrast, the prisoners are to receive substantial settlement grants beginning at £3,500. The victims have been short-changed."
Speaking at the launch of the initiative, the North's minister for victims, Mr Adam Ingram, said that victims would not be ignored by the British government. "I am committed to ensuring they get the recognition they deserve."
The package includes £1 million towards a memorial fund to provide support for victims suffering financial hardship; the establishment of a £250,000 educational bursary scheme to help children and young adults who have lost parents; and £60,000 on funding pilot schemes to help the young, elderly, housebound and disabled.
The British government has also agreed to carry out an independent review of the criminal injuries compensation scheme. It will be chaired by Sir Kenneth Bloomfield, the former head of the Northern Ireland civil service, who earlier undertook a review of the needs of victims.
Mr Glyn Roberts of the anti-paramilitary group, Families Against Intimidation and Terror, which is to receive £10,000, said the initiative was a "vital first step" in addressing the problems of victims and their families.
Mr David Clements of the victims' group Wave, which has secured £30,000, said: "This is a very important beginning. People who have lost loved ones need someone to sit down with them and listen and try to understand. There is at least a generation's work involved."
However, Ms Eilish McAnespie of Relatives For Justice, which represents the victims of state violence, gave a guarded response. "We do not oppose the use of aid, distributed on the basis of equality to deal with the trauma caused by the violence of the past 30 years, but we do not consider this to be enough."