Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. Like others in the House, I have been approached by a number of victims who have sought our intervention to ensure they receive the justice they deserve. They also wish to ensure the practices of Mr. Shine are brought to the fore publicly in a way which seeks to address their concerns. They also want to ensure justice is done and that somebody like Mr. Shine is dealt with appropriately.

As the facts emerge in this case, just like they emerged in the Ryan report or in other cases, we are provided with a frightening insight into what happened in a period of time in Irish society which I hope has passed and we will never revisit. It was a time when people who were privileged by virtue of their education or ability to attain a certain status in society sought to abuse their position. They were in an untouchable position. Clearly, nobody can be above the law, nobody can manipulate it and nobody can find a way of weaseling out of responsibility for their actions.

I was very distrubed by the "Prime Time Investigates progamme", some of which I had the benefit of watching. Watching an individual explain in a perverse way his actions or reject facts that had been established must have been a source of much pain and suffering for those victims who have been mentioned this evening. Seeing somebody like that walk freely on the streets and allegedly continuing to participate through visits to orphanages outside the State must have been so hurtful to the victims. The person concerned was still at liberty and able to continue to abuse and break the trust between a patient and his or her doctor. It must be a great source of pain, annoyance and anger for the victims. The people with whom I spoke shared their feelings on the matter. It is particularly disappointing that we have seen so many affected in such a negative way.

I can understand why some see a need for an inquiry. However, we must be careful in that regard. I have no doubt that due consideration will be given by the Government to it. We have to know the ultimate outcome of that inquiry. The difficulty we have had in the House is we have not found an effective mechanism to ensure the victims can seek the appropriate redress, the inquiry would not become an elongated, protracted legal battle in which the perpetrators of a crime such as this would ultimately find a capacity to avoid facing justice. I hope that whatever deliberations the Government has on the matter, it wants to find an outcome to ensure some level of redress or acceptance of wrongdoing and ensure the victims will be at the centre.

What happened must be most damaging to the lives of young men or women who were abused at an early age. They carry that burden throughout life. We have seen the victims mentioned in the Ryan report vent their frustration and anger in recent weeks. When one listens or talks to victims later in life, one can see their pain and suffering. Until such time as we get it all out in the open, it will not bring the comfort they need. It is not enough to say our society has changed and that this practice no longer happens. We have to show the victims and their families that we are prepared to prosecute the perpetrators.

I welcome the Minister's decision to contact the Garda Commissioner on the issue. It is a critical part of the healing process for the victims that the perpetrators are brought to justice. There is a difficulty, however, because of the passage of time and the need for corroboration of evidence and so on. However, when evidence starts to stack up - we see from the "Prime Time Investigates" programme that Dr. Shine appears to be divesting himself of his assets on the basis that he might be called to account at some stage - that in itself is almost an admission of guilt. The Minister has brought forward what might be considered to be draconian legislation in any other time, namely, the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009. We need to look at legislation under which the burden of proof that might be necessary in other situations can be set aside in some way, based on the actions of the perpetrators in their efforts to create what could only be a false defence. Anything the Government could do in that regard would be most welcome.

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