Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

I refer to an issue raised by Deputy Kenny, which I forgot to address. The institutions covered by the redress board are those where the State had a supervisory role.

Regarding Deputy Rabbitte's question, the intention of the Government is to establish a commission of inquiry under new powers granted by recent legislation. The Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Brian Lenihan, and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform are in discussion and the intention is that the first module of the commission of inquiry would be an examination of current practice across all dioceses in the country. This will ensure that measures in operation in Ferns, commended by the Murphy report, are also in operation in every other diocese. In this way we can be assured that the risk of people abusing children, and its not being dealt with satisfactorily, is eliminated. The Minister is working on terms of reference for an inquiry into the Dublin diocese and he intends to bring proposals to Cabinet in two weeks.

In response to Deputy Rabbitte's question on the repayment scheme, the heads of the Bill have not been cleared. The entire Bill will go to Cabinet and I hope to bring it before the House soon. Next year's Estimates will make substantial provision for the repayment of these moneys over the course of next year. Some 16,000 to 17,000 cases have been processed by the HSE and as soon as legislation is passed it will be in a position to make the payments quickly.

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