Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)

The Government's decision to look for 50% from the church was a good idea as the notion of not paying half is outrageous. If September 2011 is imposed as an end date, some people will not achieve redress. Two newspapers in England, two in Ireland and a website publicise this. Not everyone buys newspapers - I would not blame them - and not everyone has access to a website. The confidence of many of these people is low and they may not have the courage to come forward.

The confidentiality clause involved in seeking redress may be intimidating for these people. It would be good if they were encouraged more. Stopping people from speaking about their experiences in the redress scheme adds to the element of secrecy. The fact that they were victims of a secrecy set-up when they were being abused only adds to their fears. It must have been very difficult for them to come forward initially, even without that secrecy element being imposed on them. That must have been daunting for people. Even those who were never in homes have difficulty speaking about negative experiences. There are many examples throughout society of people who were sexually abused being slow to speak about it because they felt guilty. They thought it was a reflection on them that the abuse occurred, and I am sure there must be an element of that for many of these people also. An effort should be made to encourage them to have the confidence to come forward and deal with the issue. Many of them will not come forward without some prompting, and it would be a positive step for the Government to take.

With regard to the two institutions, many of the Deputies have dealt with those already. In terms of the Bethany Home and Magdalene laundries workers, it goes without saying that it will be a serious injustice if those people are not given the opportunity for redress. It is noteworthy that people like the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, and Deputy Joe Costello have campaigned for that through the years. Their party is now in Government and I am sure they would wish to see that happen but the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, said "No" to the Bethany Home victims. If there are people in the Labour Party who believe that is the fair approach to take, we are back to the element of money. For the amount of money that would be saved on this, and given that the State has to pay only half of it, we should include both those institutions and give people justice on the matter.

On the deadline, I agree it should not be open-ended. A deadline is necessary but the church must be able to know where it is going in terms of money. Like any business it is very difficult to plan if it does not know what is coming up in ten years' time. The date of 13 September proposed in the Sinn Féin amendment is fair to all sides.

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