Mary Moran (Labour)

I welcome the Minister back to the House. I thank him for his speech today which I found powerful and for his work throughout the year in the Seanad.

The Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Bill provides for the establishment of the statutory fund to support the needs of former residents of residential institutions as endorsed in the unanimous motion of the Dáil following the recommendations and publication of the Ryan report. The Bill is necessitated by the long-standing failure of the State to take proper care of its young and most vulnerable citizens and is only one element of the State's response to the litany of horrific abuse carried out in these institutions.

Cash contributions of over €110 million from the religious congregations who managed these institutions will finance the fund. I welcome the Minister's comments today that €21 million has been received from such religious congregations to date and his commitment today on continuing to work on the progress on agreeing to obtain the balance.

Eligibility for the fund, as the House now will be aware, is confined to those who received an award from the Residential Institutions Redress Board or who received an equivalent court settlement. The Bill also provides for the dissolution of the Education Finance Board and the transfer of its functions to the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Board.

It is estimated that approximately 15,000 potential people will benefit from the fund. I welcome the Minister's comments that those who gave evidence in the commission on child abuse will also be eligible to apply where they received redress board awards and his firm commitment that eligibility is not confined to those living in Ireland, as former residents who received redress board awards will be eligible to apply for assistance irrespective of where they live, which is important as 40% of the applicants to the redress board now live outside Ireland.

The Ryan report revealed one of the darkest eras in the history of the State in the 20th century, and there were many dark times in that period. Ireland let these innocent children suffer. As the Minister stated, we cannot blame any other country. We cannot blame any other system for the wrongs. These injustices were carried out on our own people, in our own country, by our own people. It was a contradiction that, despite being run by many of the religious institutions, the treatment of many of the residents of these institutions by the religious congregations goes against core Christian beliefs of love and honouring one another. Indeed, we now know that the abuse that these children underwent in so many industrial schools operated by the Catholic Church has caused lifelong damage and deep scares for the survivors. The Ryan report exposed horrors which confirmed that these children were often treated like prisoners and slaves rather than persons with legal rights and human potential.

However, it is not only the church authorities that were at fault. The State also turned a blind eye to what was going on with Government inspectors failing to stop these ongoing abuses. They also turned a blind eye to what was going on with Government inspectors failing to stop these ongoing abuses. We owe it to the survivors to make amends for the terrible injustice done to them.

The Bill is a continuation of the process of making amends by the State for the abuse and suffering of a particularly vulnerable set of children. I welcome Ms Christine Buckley and the other survivors who have joined us in the Gallery today. As other Senators have done, I commend them on their courage, bravery and perseverance in trying to get justice. I salute them as citizens of this country. I was also delighted to have had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Paddy Doyle, the long-time disability rights campaigner and advocate for victims of institutional abuse, when he received the lord mayor of Dublin award two years ago for his outstanding work in this area. It is a testament to their bravery and strength as victims of these institutions that they never gave up and continually fought for justice. I thank them for giving other survivors the courage to come forward when they otherwise might not have had the courage to do so.

The establishment of the fund follows extensive consultations with the survivors of residential abuse and a public consultation process. The fund will now take on responsibility for providing information for survivors and therefore the funding of survivor groups will end. I stress the importance of transferring the responsibilities with the greatest of care so that no mistakes are made. The fund will have the power to hold and dispose of land and may acquire, hold and dispose of any other property. I greatly welcome that four of the members of the nine member board will be former residents of institutions. Their insight and experience will be invaluable for the success of the board. I agree with Senator Norris that we need to hear the voices of survivors such as Councillor Mannix Flynn and Ms Christine Buckley. I thank them from the bottom of my heart for giving us such an insight.

There is some discrepancy between parties on the needs of the eligible former residents. Those needs will vary with some requiring more assistance than others. The essential function of the fund will be to use its resources to provide the services and supports for the former residents. The Minister in his contribution referred to the services, which will include counselling, psychological and mental health services, health and personal social services, educational services, and housing services. Provision is made for the Minister to prescribe further classes of services to be added to those set out in the Bill. I welcome his courage in committing to review this in two years, which indicates his seriousness.

I also refer to the erection of a memorial for the victims. As the Ryan report stated, this is invaluable as a place to be visited by not only the victims but also their families and other people who have just learned about it. It will be a communal place where we can all share and remember so that we will never make the same mistakes again.

I urge the Minister to pursue the 50:50 proposal with the religious congregations. As a person who received a convent education, I do not want to see any ailing congregations being bankrupted. Many have stated that they have no more money to give and that valuations were carried out in the time of the boom. I fully support the Minister in his bid. It is appalling that they have got away with it for so long. The responsibility must be shared equally between the State and the religious organisations. I admire the Minister for asking them to hand over the title deeds of the educational and medical infrastructure they own. Many of the convents are becoming empty owing to dwindling numbers and the old age of those who remain.

I wish to mention a very dear friend of mine who was a resident in an institution in my home area. She recounted tales to me that owing to a slight disability - she had a turn in her eye - she was not allowed to answer the door of the convent when people came because she did not look well enough to be there. She was not even deemed well enough to polish the front hall in case people might see her. We need to bring closure to this matter and move on. I again apologise on behalf of us all.