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

Before I deal with the issues raised in the Labour Party's proposed Bill, it is worthwhile reflecting on the progress we have made in recognising and admitting that children in institutions were not appropriately cared for and how the Government and indeed the entire State has addressed and responded to this matter. In 1999, the Taoiseach's apology was an admission that the State had failed in its obligations to ensure appropriate standards of care for children in these institutions. At that time the Taoiseach also announced the establishment of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse; the establishment of a nation-wide professional counselling service for the victims of childhood abuse; and legal changes relating to the taking of cases involving abuse.

The Residential Institutions Redress Board was then established under statute to provide redress to persons who had suffered abuse as children while resident in certain institutions that were subject to State inspection and regulation. More recently, the Education Finance Board was established to provide grants to former residents and their families to allow them to access educational programmes. The Government has accepted the 20 recommendations in the Ryan report. Sixteen of these recommendations relate in the main to the prevention of child abuse in the future. My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Barry Andrews, has been given the responsibility of bringing an implementation plan to Government by the end of this month. The remaining four recommendations relate mainly to my Department and are placed under the heading of, to alleviate or otherwise address the effects of the abuse on those who suffered. The Government will implement these recommendations which relate to the provision of a memorial; a review of systems to avoid future failures; the availability of education and counselling services and the continued availability of family tracing services.

The Government is committed to the provision of funding to provide for a memorial. Counselling services are currently available through the national counselling service. Funding for education is currently available from the Education Finance Board. The board is funded through the allocation of €12.7 million from the cash contribution made by the religious orders. At the end of 2008, some €7.35 million of this remained to be expended on education for former survivors and their families. Barnardos is currently being funded to provide a family tracing service.

My Department has convened a working group which includes departmental representatives from my Department and other relevant Departments to consider and progress all of these recommendations. This working group will contribute to the overall implementation plan being prepared by the Minister of State, Deputy Barry Andrews.

Since the publication of the report, the Taoiseach and Cabinet colleagues and I have met with groups representing survivors of abuse. There have also been a number of written submissions from the survivor groups. The issues raised by the groups are similar to but not limited to those raised in the Labour Party Bill. The Taoiseach and Ministers have also met on two occasions with the religious congregations. At the first meeting the Taoiseach conveyed the view of the Government and that of the wider public that further substantial contributions are required from the congregations and that the contributions need to be capable of being assessed by the public. The Taoiseach asked the congregations to revert with proposals in this regard.

We met with the representatives of the various religious congregations again on Wednesday, 24 June 2009. The religious congregations reported on the progress they had made in compiling reports on their financial positions. The congregations have been requested and are expected to submit these financial reports to the Government by mid-July. A further meeting will be arranged with them at that stage. The Taoiseach has stated the Government will appoint a panel of three independent persons to assess the material submitted by the congregations and report on the adequacy of these statements as a basis for assessing the resources of the congregations.

I wish to express the Government's regret that the Labour Party has chosen to act unilaterally by moving this Bill. I believed we had a unified approach when passing the all-party motion. I thought we would go forward together with the Dáil sitting in solidarity in the interest of the survivors. It is regrettable that this approach was not continued as we progress through our engagement with the survivor groups and the religious congregations.

The Government must oppose this Bill because the issues raised have not been fully considered and in some cases legal advice will need to be sought. In addition, while I realise that costing these measures is not a simple task, it is clear that the Labour Party has not made any attempt to cost them or even consider the cost implications. This is not to say that the Government's future decisions will be totally dependent on the financial implications but we must at all times consider the implications for the taxpayers of this country.

The Government considers this Bill to be premature. We are surprised that the Labour Party has proposed expanding the remit of the redress board before we have completed our discussions with the congregations. The Labour Party had been particularly critical of the Government committing to the redress scheme in advance of settling contributions from the religious congregations and now this is exactly what it is asking the Government to do.

A number of the main elements of the Bill are focused on proposed amendments to the redress scheme. I will outline to the House the background to those elements of the redress legislation which the Labour Party proposes to amend. The redress scheme was an additional benefit which the Oireachtas thought appropriate for children of a particular age who attended specific institutions and the scheme did not affect the right of any individual to bring legal proceedings. It was never intended, nor would it be feasible, to cover all cases of abuse occurring in every institution in the country.

The Bill proposes an extension of the redress scheme to allow for late applications to be accepted. The original legislation allowed for applications over a period of three years from its introduction. The Labour Party now proposes a further three-year period from the date of passing of its proposed Bill. To date, the redress board has received 450 late applications since the closing date, with over 50 of these being received in the period since the publication of the commission's report. The 450 late applications were dealt with as follows: a total of 109 submissions were accepted by the board; a total of 177 submissions were disallowed by the board; a total of 12 applications were invalid; ten submissions were withdrawn; in 121 cases the board is awaiting further information from the applicant and 21 submissions remain to be considered by the board.

It is worth noting that the existence of the scheme was extensively advertised prior to the closing date set by the current legislation. The redress board spent approximately €900,000 advertising the scheme on television and radio and in newspapers. The current Act makes provision for late applications in exceptional circumstances.

In terms of the proposal to extend the age restriction to allow persons who were in institutions between the ages of 18 and 21, many Members will be aware that this matter is currently the subject of a Supreme Court appeal. We believe it appropriate that this particular appeal be heard and adjudicated on.

In compiling the original Schedule of institutions which accompanies the Act, my Department had access to records in regard to the 59 industrial and reformatory schools listed on the original Schedule and was in a position to confirm that these institutions were eligible for inclusion on the Schedule.

We consider the Labour Party Bill to be premature and recommend it be opposed. We are mindful that survivors have called on all of us not to politicise what is a fundamental and therefore important issue for civic society. There is an onus on all of us to act collectively in all of their interests.

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