Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)

Let us hear what the courts decide and we will then look at that issue.

The interpretation section of the Act defined the term "child" and other cognate expressions as somebody who had not attained 18 years. This operated to exclude the applicant who was over 18 when initially placed in the institution. However, at the time the applicant was placed in the institution, she was regarded under the prevailing law as a minor as the age of majority at that time was 21 years. "JD" subsequently took a judicial review to appeal the decision of the board's review committee. The State is appealing this case to the Supreme Court and we are awaiting confirmation of a date for the hearing. In the circumstances I believe the Deputies will understand it would be totally inappropriate for me to comment on any detail of the case pending the outcome of that appeal.

In the report produced by the Committee of Public Accounts in March 2005 on the indemnity agreement, it was noted that the Government decided to establish a statutory redress scheme regardless of whether the religious orders would contribute to that scheme, and that in securing a meaningful contribution from the congregations, the Government achieved its baseline level of €128 million.

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