Jim D'Arcy (Fine Gael)

I hope not but I think the Minister is getting what I am saying in that regard.

When the Bill was introduced in the Dáil, the Minister stated the litany and scale of abuse recounted by anguished voices caused us all as a people to be ashamed, a point he repeated here. He apologised to those whose childhoods were stolen and who in many instances could not live full lives as adults as a result. As a school principal for over 30 years, I always told the staff at the beginning of the year that they were more fortunate than the horse trainers, Vincent and Aidan O'Brien. While they would have the top two-year old horses with Derby, Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and Kentucky Derby winners, the staff had the greatest gift in the world, namely, the children they taught. I always told them to take on their responsibilities on that basis. If an educator is not prepared to take this on, he or she should not be in education. At the recent INTO conference, the president of the Froebel College of Education informed me the college has linked up with Maynooth university for its new two-year training course. At the interview stage, the college will see if the candidates are suitable for teaching before embarking on the course.

The statutory fund is a significant additional response to address the horrendous abuse of children in residential institutions. It will fund the provision of counselling, health, education, housing and other services for these victims of abuse. It is expected 15,000 former residents will be eligible to apply. I welcome the establishment of the fund board which will be suitably qualified with a gender balance. Many of the services are already publicly available and eligible former residents may have an existing entitlement to receive them. If publicly funded services are already available, there is no need for the statutory fund to be used in this regard. However, with the county council grant system so narrow now, perhaps some of the victims will need access to the fund to avail of certain services.

Some have said the fund should be made available for relatives of victims. There are needs which may not be apparent now but will be in the future. In 1989, the Haemophilia HIV Trust was established in response to a call from the Irish Haemophilia Society for financial assistance for their members who had been infected with HIV through blood and blood products provided by the State. This fund is still in operation providing assistance for people with these needs. I see the statutory fund performing a similar function.