Mr. Tom Cronin:

Face-to-face engagement was mentioned. We must obviously go back before we can go forward. We are discussing Caranua, which has failed miserably since it was established. It has used one excuse after another not to meet survivors. That should have flagged to the Department or anybody else that there is something wrong. Caranua is supposed to represent survivors, yet it is failing to meet them. Why? There was a problem immediately and we did not know the extent of it until we were appointed to the board. We very quickly became aware of the problem. The gap in mindset between Caranua and survivors was millions of miles wide. It could not be measured because Caranua was coming from a different planet. That is the starting point.

The involvement of the Departments of Education and Skills and Health in this matter has been a total failure. To push it back to the Departments again is a serious mistake. It is a futile exercise and a waste of time, energy and money. It is a non-starter. I am not saying this as a reflection on the officials in the Departments. They do not know how to handle the issue and have zero empathy, knowledge or experience. My experience of dealing with the various Departments has been that when I found someone who was sympathetic, lo and behold, within six months or 12 months, that person was moved sideways, backwards or somewhere else and the whole process had to start again.

The initial point must be face-to-face contact with the survivors to find out what their needs are. They are being disenfranchised and ignored in the current system under Caranua. In my view, Caranua cannot get rid of the funds it has fast enough in order that it can close down the whole operation down and say, "Thank you very much and goodbye". That will not happen because as long as there are survivors alive, this issue will come back to haunt them. Atrocities of this magnitude cannot be dealt with in the manner that Caranua continues to deal with them. That is my answer to the Senator's question.