Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Cheann Comhairle as an seans labhairt ar an ábhar tábhachtach seo. The High Court case settled by Mr. Ronan MacConnoran highlights once again the scandal of what happened to the victims of Mr. Michael Shine. As stated by Mr. MacConnoran's solicitor, no quarter was given by the State side in defending the case. This is one of the greatest scandals ever to blight our health services.

There are scores of victims, many of them in counties Cavan and Monaghan, which I represent here. In 2009, I met with one of them, Mr. Patrick Cusack of Carrickmacross, who was first abused by Mr. Shine when 11 years old and an inpatient at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda. Mr. Cusack returned to the hospital at aged 19 when very seriously ill with meningitis and was, when in a semi-conscious condition, again abused by Mr. Shine. As stated by Patrick: "My life was turned upside down. It took me another 20 years before I started to deal with the extreme pain that his sexual abuse had caused."

The pain of the victims has been compounded by the slowness of the system in responding. An inquiry is clearly necessary because of the complete failure of the system to respond appropriately to the very serious complaints made by those who suffered abuse at the hands of Mr. Michael Shine. Major questions remain to be answered by the hospital management, the former health board and its successor the HSE, the Department of Health and Children, an Garda Síochána and the Director of Public Prosecutions. A major questionmark hangs over the thoroughness of the original Garda investigation into the conduct of Michael Shine, which investigation culminated in his 2003 acquittal on charges of indecent assault on six teenage boys. The role of management at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda must also be probed. Its role in the Neary case was nothing short of reprehensible. Are we expected to believe management was not aware of the activities of Michael Shine and did not conspire to cover up his many abuses carried out over so many years?

A public inquiry is necessary to answer these and other key questions. The call by Dignity 4 Patients for a public inquiry is supported by One in Four, the Rape Crisis Centre, the Children's Rights Alliance and Barnardos. Crucially, this demand was supported on 30 June 2009 in a Dáil motion tabled by the then Fine Gael spokesperson, now Minister for Health, Deputy James Reilly. I have repeated in my request for this Topical Issue Debate the core wording of the Minister's then wording of the motion. The principal author of the wording before the House today is the now Minister for Health, Deputy James Reilly who, when Fine Gael spokesperson on health called for "a credible inquiry to investigate how complaints relating to allegations of abuse by Michael Shine in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, were dealt with by the Hospital, An Garda Síochána, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Health Board, the Health Service Executive, the Department of Health and Children and any other relevant party".

That motion also called for appropriate services for victims. It is a great matter of disappointment to note that the Minister, Deputy Reilly, has failed to establish an inquiry and has presided over a significant cut in funding to Dignity 4 Patients which represents all of the victims of Michael Shine. That cut in this current year is so severe it is not only restricting its ability to represent these victims but is making its project impossible. The Minister must act now according to his own words by establishing an inquiry. I appeal that in the interim the funding stream be restored to Dignity 4 Patients.

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