Former prisoners released in Northern Ireland under the Belfast Agreement are suffering discrimination as a result of their paramilitary past, a report claimed today.
The report by a republican ex-prisoner's group, Coiste na n-Iarchimi, has called for an end to barriers to the appointment of ex-prisoners in public services.
The organisation's chairman, former IRA hunger-striker Raymond McCartney, said: "In this report we point out how little has been done to address the legal barriers facing ex-prisoners.
"The point is most startlingly highlighted by correspondence from the Ambulance Service indicating that political ex-prisoners 'would not be considered suitable for appointment in a public service such as ours.'
"We are aware of a similar policy approach by many other public bodies".
The report will be discussed at the annual gneral meeting of Coiste na n-Iarchimi at the Gasyard building in Derry today.