David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Everybody has read it, okay.

I have read the report, probably three or four times at this point. It is a troubling report for all sorts of reasons. It is difficult for us, even to put questions in relation to costs, because nobody is disputing, as Mr. Ó Foghlú stated earlier, that every cent that was given to survivors was entirely appropriate. The issue is who pays, and the issues, in the case of any questions that we put, are around process.

I have to say to Mr. Ó Foghlú that, after reading the report several times and taking on board the gravity of the findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General in his report, I found Mr. Ó Foghlú's opening statement to be a bland account of the issues. That is just the first point I would make. I wonder if the Department has any concept of self-reflection, accountability, responsibility and recognition of failures because it does not jump out at all from Mr. Ó Foghlú's opening statement. In fact, quite the opposite is so. That is extraordinary. That is merely my view and I will state that first.

The following is the first question I will put to Mr. Ó Foghlú. I want to focus on policy here. The policy was initially that the congregations that ran the institutions would share equal liability of whatever the overall cost would be. Would Mr. Ó Foghlú confirm that was the policy?