Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)

As the Deputy knows, Judge Ryan and Judge Laffoy have made reports. The Attorney General made a report on the process and made various recommendations, many of which are being introduced and will be put into legislation at the appropriate time, depending on what I might call the Christian Brothers' case.

In determining the level of awards, the commission must operate on the basis of the legislation passed by these Houses, which was based on the report of Judge Ryan, then Mr. Ryan, SC. That report recommended awards at a High Court level, which is how the board is operating. It would be wrong to suggest this is not the case. I know some statements were recently made on the radio about this matter and RTE issued a public apology last Saturday to correct some of what was said about Judge Ryan and the board.

On the question of silence, we may lose sight of the fact that section 28 of the Act exists as much to protect the victims as anybody else. Many victims do not want disclosure of their stories, identities, the fact they went to the redress board or that they received compensation. On the other hand, in certain cases, while I would not say it is wrong or false, it is not provable that those who cited are responsible for certain abuse and, consistent with the Constitution, they also must be protected. Section 28 of the Act exists for those good reasons.

While I do not want to anticipate a later question which deals with the matter, the manner in which Judge Ryan conducts his business with public hearings etc. will give people the opportunity to say what is on their minds and make their views known, and this is how it should be left. Having introduced the legislation and established the board, we should let it get on with its work. Given that 97% of those to whom offers have been made have accepted them, it must be working reasonably well. As the Deputy knows, it will never be possible to satisfy everybody 100%.

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