Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)

I regret that I cannot accept Deputy Crowe's amendment. As I explained on Second Stage, the Government believes that the redress board has, by and large, completed the task assigned to it. The timeframe for the receipt of applications which was set out in the original legislation provided a reasonable period within which applicants could submit their cases. The legislation also made provision for the acceptance of late applications in certain exceptional circumstances. We are now at that juncture where the original cohort of people who became aware of the supports available through the redress board accessed the provision of that support during the early stages of the board's existence. We are now finally dealing with those exceptional circumstances.

One must bear in mind that a total period of eight and a half years has been made available. It is a long time for the making of applications. I believe it is an adequate period. Deputy Crowe indicated that in 2009 the publication of the Ryan report jogged the memories or incentivised a new cohort of people to access the redress board. That in itself is reasonably sufficient for us to conclude that we are now dealing with the last few exceptional cases. It is now time to prepare for the closure of the board and the setting of a date after which it will not be possible to receive applications. It is an essential part of the winding down process. In all of the circumstances that have been voiced today, the Government is satisfied that 17 September 2011 is the appropriate cessation date. We do not believe there is any justification in extending the date further.

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