Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Scouting Ireland for the presentation. I have sat back and watched this for the past few months, no more than the witnesses have. Indeed, it has been going on almost a year at this stage. I will surmise what happened and then get into the questions.

My belief is that the lid not only came off but was blown off Scouting Ireland. The governance needed dramatic change and cultural change. Interpersonal difficulties came to the fore as well. A legal quagmire came about. What was at risk at all times was the main purpose and ethos of Scouting Ireland and the 50,000 personnel and young children who were part of Scouting Ireland. At all times they were caught in a stormy sea through no fault of their own. They were at sea in stormy conditions. That is why it is important to acknowledge the great work of the volunteers and parents who continued to send their children to Scouting Ireland throughout this entire process. It is important to acknowledge the great work of the paid staff who stuck with Scouting Ireland through the uncertainty from quarter to quarter over whether funding was going to come. They have to be acknowledged. For much of this time they were left in a stormy sea with little information.

At all times I have taken the view that Scouting Ireland was taking three steps forward and then seven steps back. We must talk about this in the context of last September or October. To be honest, I was disgusted about the process that unfolded last September and October. At the time we had an Oireachtas committee meeting at which it was clear that guidelines and a process were being set in place. However, I cannot understand the train of thought that could allow a situation in which, one week before an annual general meeting, all of this could unravel and put at stake the paid staff jobs and put at risk the parents who continued to support Scouting Ireland and children who continued to attend. As far as I was concerned, we were facing into the abyss at that stage, from which there was no coming back, in the knowledge, because we are well informed, that Ian Elliot had received the guts of 500 files from Larch Hill and in the knowledge of what was unfolding there. I believed it was very important that Scouting Ireland be kept together for all the reasons set out by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Zappone, this morning.

I am glad to see the report from Ms Kelly this morning. It is most welcome. I am warmed by what Ian Elliot has said in support of the board. I am disappointed that it has taken months to have a safeguarding position advertised. While the matter was in the capable hands of Ian Elliot, it would have been important to have the position advertised to show that we were taking it seriously and that we were prepared to move forward and to stop having an interim arrangement. In any event, it is good to see that the post has been advertised. How long did we leave the position vacant? How long did we not have a full-time person covering that role? I do not want to hear about "interim" or the post being "under the role of the chief executive". When was the last time Scouting Ireland had a safeguarding officer in place?

After all my surmising, much of this comes back to Mr. Elliot. I am confused at this stage because the Minister harked on about one point but we did not get into it enough because of what she said. I am referring to the independent barrister. How many times has the board of Scouting Ireland met that independent barrister? Why was that independent barrister assigned from the first day? We do not have any updated information on what is going on there. What was the role of the independent barrister? I am wondering about it and something out there is not sitting right with me because I do not have a report or review from that particular person.

How many cases have gone before the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP, in the past ten years? We are talking about between 60 and 80 cases and it seems to be back there the whole time. I am talking about here and now. In the past ten years, how many cases have gone before the DPP relating to Scouting Ireland?

The optics around all of this are very important because the optics indicate what we want to show in the future. I realise we have only got to the 1980s with Scouting Ireland files, but I want to know whether all the files before 1980 have been assessed. Is Scouting Ireland still going through some of these? As far as I am concerned, we have a further 30 years of files to go through and the 540-odd files that Mr. Elliot would have seen on the first day. Mr. Elliot said that persons are becoming more forthcoming with information but we did not have files on them at all. I want to hear the Scouting Ireland take on it. Today is 21 November. Where are we at with the whole review?

As far as I am concerned, this has blown wide open. We know what is going on with Tusla on child protection. We know about mandatory reporting. Where are we going to get the skill set to support the board? Unless every board member is trained in social care, counselling and everything else, we will not get the skill set to do this work. Will Scouting Ireland keep it all in-house to ensure the work is done to its ability? I am sorry. I realise I have asked many questions.