Remarks by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Mr. Barry Andrews, T.D. Launch of the publication of the Commission of Investigation Report into the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin
Thursday, November 26th, 2009
The litany of abuse and cruelty that is a feature of each and every chapter of the Report into the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin comes just six months after the Ryan Report. Whether read separately or together, these reports will give rise to feelings of disgust and abhorrence. First and foremost, our thoughts are with victims today.
It is ironic that that the high level of respect which Irish people had for the Catholic Church was one of the key reasons why abusers within the Church were given access to children. All members of the Catholic Church and citizens of this country will rightly feel betrayed and sorely let down. This sense of betrayal will also be keenly felt by the vast majority of clergy, who selflessly serve our communities today. The hurt and pain caused by heinous crimes perpetrated on children was compounded by the denial and refusal of people in positions of authority to listen to the pleas for help.
I said last May our words will offer little solace to those who were left isolated and abused, if we do not resolve to improve our child protection practices today. That is surely the greatest service we can do for victims and society in general. Judge Murphy in writing this report noted the extraordinary delay in introducing child protection legislation in this State. Successive Governments failed in their responsibilities as legislators to put in place a comprehensive child protection legislative framework. Where there still remains a gap in child welfare and protection legislation, the Government will take the necessary steps to put the appropriate legislation in place.
Many perpetrators of abuse felt insulated from investigation. Even in cases where information was relayed to An Garda Siochana and the Health Boards, there was an assumption that their elevated position in society would protect against criminal prosecution. Access to contemporaneous and accurate information relating to allegations of abuse was patently absent.
The sharing of information between agencies of the State is a crucial step in improving our capability in tackling sexual abuse. There are all too many examples of poor outcomes for vulnerable children when public bodies fail to share knowledge and in some cases sensitive information. The sharing of soft information when it relates to allegations of sexual abuse is an onerous and heavy burden. The State must protect its citizens when they wish to pass on such information to relevant authorities pertaining to deviant sexual behaviour. Similarly, statutory and non-statutory bodies must be able to report “soft information” to the HSE and An Garda Siochana when concerns are raised. Work is well under way on preparing legislation to provide a statutory framework for the sharing of “soft information”. I will take full account, in finalising the draft legislation, of the findings by the Commission of Investigation in relation to the collection and sharing of information. Heads of a Bill are being prepared by my Office in consultation with the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and I expect to bring these to Government in the very near future.
I am heartened that the Catholic Church has, to date, fully complied with the HSE’s recent audit of Church protection policies, practices and procedures. The HSE will be issuing a statement in this regard today. The audit aims to ensure that the HSE is fully aware of all cases of clerical child sex abuse known to the Church, including the whereabouts of alleged perpetrators. A detailed questionnaire issued to each diocese in July and completed replies have been received by the HSE from the bishop in each diocese. Child Care Managers within the HSE are meeting individual bishops to clarify issues arising from completion of the questionnaires. A similar audit process was also initiated with 140 religious orders and the HSE is to furnish a report to me setting out the findings. The audit of the Catholic Church's child protection policies, practice and procedures is one of a number of actions taken following the publication of the Ferns report. The Government earlier this year requested the Commission of Investigation to extend its work to deal with the Catholic Diocese of Cloyne because of concerns which had arisen in relation to that diocese. The Government reserves the option to extend the work of the Commission to other dioceses, if concerns arise in respect of them.
In responding to the recommendations contained in the Ryan report, I published an implementation plan that included 99 specific action points to improve the delivery of children’s services. The plan is ambitious but represents an honest assessment of the improvements required. Two critical commitments that I would like to highlight are the filling of 270 social work posts within the HSE’s child protection service and the drafting of legislation, by December 2010, to provide that all staff employed by the State and staff employed in agencies in receipt of funding from the Exchequer will have a duty to comply with the Children First national guidelines.
Today is a day that will be remembered with sadness and hurt. Today is a day that the victims of clerical abuse can finally say that they were right, that they are believed and that both Church and State respond with words of sincere and fulsome regret.
