Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

In view of what the Minister has said, and given the hugely escalated costs above what was originally anticipated, does she believe that the Government was wrong, at that time, to impose a cap on the responsibility of the religious institutions? Should the Government have insisted on some kind of joint responsibility on a percentage basis, rather than a cap, in view of how much larger the State's contribution has been? Does the Minister expect many future court cases in the context of this legislation? When does she expect the full complement of properties to be transferred to the State under the indemnity deal? Most important, will the Minister and her Department revisit the total washing of hands concerning the abuse that was perpetrated in the past on day students in schools, and which may well be continuing now? We all know of cases where people have tried to get some kind of justice but got nowhere. They can be faced with enormous costs. I have raised one such case with the Minister on a number of occasions.

In the context of the current situation, parents may suspect that abuse is going on, yet they may feel their concerns are not eliciting a serious response from the school's board of management and possibly from the patron. Will the Department of Education and Science take any responsibility in such cases? It makes a mockery of the apology that was given on foot of everything we have found out about the past, if the State body — in this case, the Department of Education and Science, which runs the schools and pays teachers — completely washes it hands of anything that has happened or could possibly happen in day schools.

See this speech in context