People in the Republic of Ireland don’t care about the on-going conflict in Northern Ireland, according to a report launched today.
The Irish Platform for Peace and Reconciliation, a group comprising 17 non-governmental organisations, commissioned the report last year which highlighted "civil apathy" among people in the South towards the unrest in Northern Ireland.
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The report entitled "Peace Building in the Republic of Ireland" and launched today by Mr Paul Van Tongeren, chief executive of the European Platform for Conflict Prevention and Transformation, cited a "general ignorance" of the conditions and issues affecting Northern Ireland as one of the main reasons for disinterest among people in the south.
The report criticised the Government for not referring to peace and reconciliation issues in either its Programme for Government or the National Plan and recommended it redress this.
But it did commend the State and the political parties for supporting the peace process over the last number of years.
History education of youths in the Republic was also criticised for being "sufficiently defective to allow a student to complete an entire education cycle without really learning the history, culture and beliefs of any other tradition or religion."
The Republic was also accused of disowning the problems in Northern Ireland and blaming its people for their own misfortune.
The report claimed "most people in the Republic of Ireland do not see themselves - or the state - as having any responsibility for the problem or a role in finding a solution".
Mr Ian White, chairman of the Platform for Peace and Reconciliation told ireland.comthe main thrust of the report was to "encourage debate" about the apathy highlighted, in an attempt to improve peace-building in the Republic.
"People in the Republic are not appreciating that we are part of this problem", he said.