Mr. Ian Elliott:

As Dr. Lawlor outlined, we are talking about a substantial amount of resources being channelled towards safeguarding. I believe that there is the commitment now. As Ms Kelly referred to, I have given two detailed briefings to the new board over the past month. I have gone through all of this work in great detail with them. The first time I met them, I remarked to them that I did not trust them, which is probably not a good way to start off. I did it because my experience of previously working with individuals within Scouting Ireland has not always been easy and straightforward. I said: "I will learn to trust you when I see your actions give me cause to trust you." They were quite taken aback but I have to say that over the course of the six weeks or so that they have been in place, on behalf of those people who have been hurt as a consequence of having contact with scouting I have been greatly impressed, reassured and encouraged. I now feel that we are in a very different place going forward.

One cannot view the victims as being a homogenous group. Victims are adults and they have a right to their privacy. They may not want to have any contact with Scouting Ireland or anything to do with us, or they may want to have simply very limited contact. I have been contacted by victims, individuals who were in very senior positions in scouting, who simply wanted to have a conversation with me so that they could be apologised to and also so that they could be reassured that what happened to them mattered to scouting today and that there was concern for their situation; that was really important to them. They were reassured by that and they did not want any further contact. That was it. That is not an uncommon reaction. In other cases, it is very different. One is meeting individuals who have been very seriously impacted as a consequence of what happened to them and who are still dealing with the trauma they suffered when they were abused at ten or 11 years of age. In many respects, one is responding to and meeting a ten or 11 year old boy who happens to be a middle-aged man with serious life difficulties. That is the human cost that one must always take into account.

The point is Scouting Ireland is a brilliant youth organisation doing a wonderful job but it has a responsibility to every young person with whom it comes into contact that it treats him or her fairly, with respect and ensures his or her safety at all times. I believe and have confidence in the new board and in the chair, and in the CEO, Dr. Lawlor, that now there is that total commitment to ensure that happens.

Today is, in a sense, a starting off. We are not hiding anything from the committee. This is what we know and as we know more, we will share that with the committee. We are not trying to deny anything. This is exactly what the situation is. We want it known so that we can address it and also encourage others who we do not know to come forward and talk to us so that we have a full, in-depth understanding and knowledge of what has taken place in the past.