Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)

In the limited time available to me, I must register my protest at the fact that only 20 minutes has been allowed for the debate on this serious matter in the House tonight. When I last spoke on this matter last May, as did Deputy Quinn and others, I asked if we were giving the commission enough time to allow for its report to be published and printed. I was told on that occasion that the time stipulation, which at that time was the end of January this year, was sufficient. Under this motion, we will give the commission more time on the basis of a request from Mr. Justice Ryan, the chairperson of the commission, and I fully understand the reason for that.

The commission is a creature of this House. It has been caused to be established by this House and its terms of reference are a matter for this House. The notion that in 20 minutes Members can make their contributions on this motion is unacceptable.

Are we giving the commission enough time to complete this work by providing for an extension of another four months? I would like the Minister to reply to that question. What is the problem in extending the specified period even further? If the commission publishes its report within three or four months, that would be fine and if not, what would be the problem? Why does the Minister not set a date of the end of October, November or the end of the year for the specified period? There is nothing that precludes the commission from publishing its report before that date. I repeat a point I made last May, namely, that we are setting a time limit for this work that may well be unrealistic.

The second reason I cite this point, and this is the more substantial issue, is that the Minister must be aware that since the judgment of Mr. Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill, the terms of reference of the commission have been effectively extended in terms of those who can now seek compensation, namely, those who were over the age of 18 in residential care at the time of this entire saga. I am aware the Government has appealed this matter to the Supreme Court and it is a matter for it to determine, on the basis of legal argument and judgment, the veracity of the O'Neill judgment that was given last October.

By giving the commission an additional four months to complete this work, are we flying in the face of a serious judgment given by Mr. Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill in the High Court? His argument in that judgment, which is currently law, is that those persons over 18 years of age — between the ages of 18 and 21 — should have been included in the terms of reference because at that stage, in terms of Irish law, they were regarded, effectively, as minors. Are we putting the cart before the horse? By the granting this restrictive additional four months, which the Minister is proposing to the House, are we saying, effectively, that case is null and void? We cannot make that judgment, I submit, until such time as the Supreme Court has come to a determination on the High Court ruling. I understand the Minister's dilemma on this issue but I suggest to him, and I ask him to reply to this substantive point, that it would be more sensible to allow us more time than the four months.

We are in a financial crisis. If ever there was an example of the most reckless, disgraceful, Fianna Fáil cute hoor deal in this country it was the deal struck by Deputy Michael Woods and the Fianna Fáil Government in 2002. That deal effectively allowed the religious orders to walk away with a liability of €128 million. I understand that at last count the total cost of this will be in excess of €1.2 billion. We are looking for cuts of €2 billion this year and already, in this case, the State stands liable for €1 billion because of the disgraceful deal that the Minister's Government negotiated in its dying days in 2002, a deal about which the Department of Finance at the time had severe reservations. It was railroaded through for some reason nobody has been able to explain. I submit it was a disgraceful deal and the people have been paying the price ever since.

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