Within this section you will be able to access information on:-

Please contact the Inquiry on 028 9051 7250 as soon as possible if for any reason you are unable to attend the Inquiry on the day that you are due to give evidence.

If you are legally represented you should also keep in contact with your solicitor about your availability and notify them immediately if anything changes.

On arrival please report to the Civic Centre reception desk on the ground floor where you will be directed to the Inquiry Area on the 1^st floor and met by a member of Inquiry staff.

An usher will take you to the witness waiting area where youwill be offered tea or coffee.  A member of the Inquiry team will be available to answer any questions you may have.

Please remember to bring reading glasses if you require them. It would also be useful for you to bring a copy of your statement(s) and any relevant documents.

You will need to turn your mobile phone off while you are at the Inquiry.

You may bring a friend or member of your family with you, and they will be able to sit in the hearing room while you give your evidence.

If you wish, you can have a discussion with your legal representative in the witness room or just sit on your own or with a friend.

When the time comes to give your evidence, an usher will show you from the witness room to the hearing room.  You will be seated in front of a microphone while you give your evidence with a good view of the Chairman and Counsel to the Inquiry.

You will be asked to take the oath.  You can ask to see it beforehand so you can feel more comfortable with it.  You can take the oath on the holy book of your religion or you can affirm (promise) to tell “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth”.  Whichever way you do it, you are promising to tell the absolute truth.  The Inquiry will ask your legal representative about this when you are asked to attend the Inquiry, and the usher will ask you about this on the day.

You will be asked questions mainly by Counsel to the Inquiry.  Please answer each question truthfully to the best of your ability.  Take whatever time you need before answering.  If you do not know the answer to a question, cannot remember or simply do not understand the question, please inform Counsel or ask for clarification of any point.  There is no rush.

You may sit or stand while you answer the questions.  In front of you will be a screen on which relevant documents or pictures will appear.

Your evidence will be audio recorded as you speak.  The Inquiry hearings are public and your evidence will be posted in the transcripts section of the Inquiry timetable the next day.

Water will be available in the witness room and the hearing room while you give evidence.  A café on the ground floor of Antrim Civic Centre is available for public use.

You will be told by the Chairman when your evidence is complete or whether (and when) you need to return.  After you have finished giving evidence you may stay and watch the remainder of proceedings that day, or you may leave straight away. The usher and Inquiry staff will be able to help you and answer any questions.

Witnesses giving evidence at the Oral Hearings may be eligible for compensation in respect of loss of time and/or reimbursement of travel incurred in attending the Oral Hearings.

If you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact your legal representative or the Inquiry

The Inquiry is committed to conducting as much of its business in public as possible.  The Inquiries Public Hearings which will be held in the Round Tower Room, Antrim Civic Centre, Steeple Road, Antrim.

The Inquiry proceedings can be viewed by the public in the following areas: -

Please note that the maxmium capacity for observers in the Round Tower room is approximately 20 people and in the viewing facility approximately 20.

The Inquiry will be publishing the schedule of hearings on its website.  The standard timings for each session will be:

The Inquiry does not guarantee that every session will run for a full duration.  Please note that the Inquiry is not scheduled to sit every day once it commences.  Members of the public are encouraged to check the website to ensure that they do not travel unnecessarily to the venue when there are no scheduled hearings.

The Inquiry would like to ensure that as many people as possible wishing to attend the public hearings have the opportunity to do so.  However a number of measures are in place to support the effective conduct of the Inquiry’s work and these are set out below.

On arrival at Antrim Civic Centre you will be directed to the Inquiry registration desk where passes can be obtained from Inquiry staff.

Those attending will be asked if they have a recognised form of photographic identification (eg drivers licence or passport).  Members of the public will be asked to sign for their pass and will be required to return it upon departure from the Inquiry room.  This is so that, in the event the building needs to be evacuated, the emergency services and building management can verify that the facility has been emptied.

The registration desk will open one hour (60 minutes) before the start of a session, i.e. the registration desk will be open at 09:00 for a 10:00 session start.  You will be issued with a pass for the hearing room and on your departure from the hearing room you must surrender your pass to a member of the Inquiry’s staff.

As capacity in the hearing room is limited the Inquiry cannot guarantee access to any individual member of the public for a particular hearing session.  Please note it is not possible to reserve a pass in advance for any hearing session.

For morning and afternoon sessions doors to the Hearing room will be open 30 minutes before the beginning of the session.

The Inquiry's proceedings will be conducted in the Round Tower in the 1^st floor of the Civic Centre.  To gain entry to the Inquiry suite members of the public may be required to undertake security checks.

The Inquiry reserves the right to refuse admission to the Inquiry suite or additional viewing facility at any point.

The Civic Centre is fully accessible for those with disabilities and the hearing room is fitted with an induction loop.  Further details about how the Civic Centre caters for additional disability related needs, including access to disabled parking, can be found on the centre's website. www.antrim.gov.uk

Access to the hearing room will be on a first come, first served basis.  There are around 30 seats available in the public area.  All those wishing to be in the hearing room are required to be seated 5 minutes before the scheduled start of that session.  Access will not permitted after this time so the Inquiry kindly requests that you take account of this in your travel plans

A café on the ground floor of Antrim Civic Centre is available for public use.

Once in the Inquiry room members of the public are required to observe standards of behaviour similar to those observed in the public gallery of a courtroom.  The following rules must be complied with at all times:

Noise - There must be silence in the public area of the hearing room while the Inquiry is in session.

Entry & exit - You will be expected to remain in the hearing room during the proceedings, except in an emergency.  Should you need to leave the Inquiry room during a session you will be required to surrender your pass to an accredited member of the Inquiry staff.  This will be returned to you should you return to the Inquiry room during that same session.  Access will not normally be permitted after doors to the hearing have been closed.

Food & drink - Members of the public are not permitted to bring items of food or drink into the hearing room.  They will be asked to finish or dispose of such items upon entry into the Inquiry room.

Electronic devices - Members of the public are prohibited from bringing electronic devices such as cameras, personal data applications, MP3 players or any recording device into the hearing room.  Mobile telephones should be turned off.  We ask that you take this into consideration when attending the hearings.

Disruption - Any individual, who disrupts the proceedings of the Inquiry within the Inquiry room, will be deemed to have forfeited their right to attendance and may be removed from the premises.  Types of behaviour which will not be tolerated include the interruption of Panel members or witnesses, the display of banners of any size or the throwing of objects.

Anyone who does not comply with any of these requirements may be refused entry to the Inquiry room or asked to leave the hearing room at any point in the proceedings.

Members of the media wishing to register for attendance at the public hearings should contact the Inquiry Press Officers through the media enquiries page.