Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank both delegates for the presentations. I am relatively new to the committee so I am getting up to speed. I thank my colleague, Senator Ruane in particular, not just for the work she has done on this topic but for her assistance in bringing me up to speed. I should not be shocked but I still am. I was struck by the statement: "What happened to us as children was a shame on the nation, but what has been done to us since is a greater shame." I cannot help but think about how the State used all its machinery — everything at its disposal — when the banks were in trouble. Nothing was too much. No cost was too much. The State acted to do everything it could to rescue those in financial power at the same time as it left victims of the most horrendous torture in the State bereft of any support. What does that say about us as a country and state? What does it say about successive Governments who failed so many people?

The witnesses will appreciate from my accent that I have a particular interest in the United Kingdom. Why do they think Caranua did not want to meet survivors? It is quite a stunning revelation.