Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

As for the issue regarding the question of the congregations, the Government set out its position and they obviously brought forward the assets they had available to them for offer. As I stated, the valuation was €348.51 million, in addition to the original contribution of €128 million under the 2002 indemnity agreement. In our view, we need to engage with them on a further contribution. The congregations had to listen to the Government's view at that meeting. The Government is prepared to work with the congregations in whatever way we can to achieve the objectives set out. They emphasise that we will be dealing with each individual congregation on that point. That is what we are doing at the moment.

There is a continuing need to ensure that what has been offered is arranged to be transposed as suggested. That work is continuing. The Department of Education and Skills has been liaising, and continues to liaise, with the survival groups on those matters. We outlined to them what the Government envisaged in terms of the cash element of the trust fund, an idea which formed part of the agreed motion passed by Dáil Éireann. We are working on that issue as well.

Different views were put forward by various survivor groups on a number of matters. They are entitled to state those positions but it is for Government, on the basis of having had an expert panel examine all of the issues, namely, the assets that were available for consideration to deal with the matter as far as the congregations were concerned, to come to them with the considered view of the panel based on the information available to it. It was a constructive meeting. I accept there will be disappointments from various quarters but those were constructive meetings where the Government outlined the position as clearly as possible and set out what we believed was achievable and what was in prospect based on the facts of the situation as they were before us. I would not like the Deputy to feel the meeting was not constructive; many constructive contributions were made at those meetings.

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