Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

Why did Ministers and senior officials in Departments turn a blind eye? Why did gardaí or those in communities who heard of these abuses turn a blind eye?

A clue to this is to be found in recent comments made by the Taoiseach's predecessor, Deputy Bertie Ahern, and the former Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Michael Woods. In the case of Deputy Bertie Ahern, he has accused those of us seeking a reopening of the 2002 indemnity deal as being somehow anti-clerical. In the case of Deputy Woods, he has explained why he did not include the Attorney General in discussions because, as he put it, the legal people had fallen out with the religious. Therein lies a clue as to why the blind eye was turned over decades. There was an unhealthy deferential relationship between the State and its institutions and the Catholic Church and its religious orders. Until we honestly, as a country, Government and Parliament, face up to it and face it down to determine it will never happen again, we will again be failing the victims of these awful crimes.

The blind eye was turned and people did not or did not want to listen because of the danger of a belt of the crozier, the denunciation and accusation of being anti-clerical or being put out of step with the social consensus of the times. It is not enough for us to say this abuse was awful, move on from it and put it back under the carpet again. We have to face and deal with an unhealthy relationship which persisted for far too long in this State. That is why the 2002 deal made between Deputy Bertie Ahern's Government, his Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Woods, and the religious orders needs to be revisited. It is not because of the money. It is not about revenge because that gets us nowhere. It is about justice. It is about restoring the balance and ensuring they did not get away with it. It is about ensuring that as a people and a country that we have moved on from those horrific times in which children could be abused behind closed doors and walls while people did nothing about it because they were afraid.

This is not about politics. Will the Taoiseach speak to the religious orders about reopening the deal? Let us forget about the legalities of the agreement made. I note the Taoiseach welcomed, as I do, the statement from the Christian Brothers this afternoon. Could a fund be established whereby the compensation contributions be done on a 50:50 basis, along the lines of the advice given by the Department of Finance at the time, which could assist those who suffered from the horrendous ordeal and abuse in these institutions over many decades?

I will co-operate with whatever motion is tabled. However, I believe the conclusion and closure of this will necessarily involve revisiting the 2002 indemnity deal with a real and meaningful contribution made by the religious orders. This is what the people want to see happening too.

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