To say dealing with the legacy of the Troubles was a heavy task was the "understatement of the age" which was why cross-party political support was vital in addressing the issue, former Church of Ireland primate Lord Eames has told Assembly members.
Lord Eames, former vice-chairman of the policing board Denis Bradley and other members of the special group charged with addressing the past made clear at an Assembly committee meeting yesterday that it was crucial to achieve political agreement on the way forward.
The Eames/Bradley group was established in June this year by former Northern secretary Peter Hain to produce recommendations by next summer on the best way of dealing with the past.
The group, whose members also include former rugby international Willie John McBride and former captain of the Armagh GAA team Jarlath Burns, yesterday addressed the Stormont committee, which scrutinises the office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, the Rev Ian Paisley and Mr Martin McGuinness.
Lord Eames said everyone in the North had memories and emotions about the past, and the general responsibility of his group was to address the issue without overshadowing the positive potential of the future. He stressed they were not a truth and reconciliation group but had a brief to come up with proposals on confronting the past.
It was an extremely complex undertaking, reinforced by the fact that in addition to the South African model some 30 other countries were seeking to engage in similar difficult projects.
Mr Bradley said the consultative group on the past was a transitory body that should be wound up next year after it makes its recommendations - if it could agree on its recommendations - and the substantive task of dealing with the past in large measure rested with the Northern Assembly and Executive.
Mr McBride adverted to the complexity of finding agreement on the past. He said he was very heartened by the people who had already come forward to speak to the group. "We are not going to satisfy everybody no matter what we come up with, but we are trying to come up with something that will satisfy as many as possible."
Mr Burns said given that even the Omagh relatives could not agree on a memorial garden to remember the victims of the Real IRA bombing, it was clear that the challenge to achieve consensus on recommendations would be hugely difficult.
