Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I welcome the fact that the Government made a formal announcement last night to the effect that consensus has been reached that a far greater contribution should be made by the religious orders and institutions in respect of the victims who were children in their care when they were abused. I also welcome the fact that two of the 18 religious institutions have made statements to the effect that it is their intention to increase substantially the contributions they can make in this regard. I hope that the other 16 institutions will follow suit very promptly.

It is imperative that the negotiations referred to by the Taoiseach involve not only the religious orders and the Government, but the victims in particular of what were a whole series of heinous crimes. In other words, when the negotiations are taking place, they should be represented. I also believe the contributions to be made should be agreed and should be neither voluntary nor discretionary. It may be that some orders will have far greater reserves than others. During the negotiations, does the Taoiseach intend on the basis of accountability and transparency to seek full recourse from the religious institutions based on the extent of their assets, capital resources etc., so that in formulating a plan there can be some understanding of what precise contribution can be made by the individual bodies?

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