Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)

Deputy Crowe referred to the publication of the Ryan report. Perhaps I misunderstood him but he appeared to think that it jogged the memories of only a cohort resident in the UK. I suggest that the shock and horror we felt as a nation reverberated around the whole world at the time. While no one would claim to be 100% confident that every single person who requires redress has accessed it, the revulsion we all felt at the time did reverberate around the world and one can only conclude that the vast majority of those who intended accessing the redress board have done in the past eight and a half years.

It is also important that the winding down of the redress board does not take away the right of citizens to take a civil legal case against any institution or person whom it feels has abused them in the past. It is also important to point out that the significant psychological and counselling services that are available to every other citizen of the State are also available on an ongoing basis to the former residents of these institutions.

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