Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

As I was saying in respect of the matter regarding the religious congregations, the Department of Education and Skills is the lead Department. I understand it will report to Government on this matter shortly, so we will have to wait to see what proposals come from it as a result of the discussions.

As the Deputy knows, 139 institutions were approved for the redress scheme, which was recognised from the outset as not being "a panacea for every injustice committed on children". The redress scheme was complemented by the establishment of an independent commission to inquire into child abuse, the National Counselling Service, the Origins family tracing service and the Education Finance Board. Together with funding for support groups, these initiatives represented a comprehensive and compassionate response to the abuse suffered by so many victims while also allowing a comprehensive review of the causes, nature and extent of abuse.

The issue of extending the scheme was considered previously, but it was decided not to include Bethany Home. Following the publication of the Ryan report, there was a range of demands for the redress scheme to be extended to include specific institutions as well as specific categories of institution. The Government considered those demands and, in its statement on 15 April last, indicated it did not propose to revise the arrangements.

The general question of the church-State dialogue also relates to matters like the economic situation in the country. All of these are issues for faith communities as well. They can take the opportunity to put their views on these matters. It is not simply a question of a narrow church-State engagement in the traditional sense, but of a broader review.

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