Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)

I welcome this Bill and welcome the establishment of the statutory fund for victims of abuse in residential institutions. The extent of the abuse of women and children by those people entrusted with their care will forever be a stain on our nation. What these people have lost can never be quantified here. The reports we have seen, the stories we have heard and the many stories still untold represent the most awful betrayal and abuse of women and children in the history of this country. My heart goes out to those victims of abuse, but I know my words are of little comfort because in the past, nobody listened, nobody asked questions and nobody said stop.

What happened can never be allowed to happen again. Those who suffered abuse still live in society and still struggle on a daily basis to deal with simple matters. Over the past couple of days, I read the Justice for Magdalenes report that was issued by Professor James Smith of Boston College and was horrified by some of the stories. While many have told their stories openly, many stories that may be even more horrific have never been told. This process proposes to compensate victims and provide for counselling and whatever else victims may need in the future. This is long overdue.

The Bill is an important step in demonstrating support for victims of residential institutional abuse. The statutory fund will provide victims of abuse in residential institution with access to the help and support they need, through the provision of counselling, health, education, housing and other services. The Bill provides that former residents who received financial compensation from the redress board or who received an award or settlement in court proceedings and who would otherwise have received an award from the redress board will be eligible to apply for assistance from the fund. It is expected that some 15,000 former residents, whether living in Ireland or abroad, will successfully complete the redress process and be eligible to apply for services they need.

The statutory fund of some €110 million will be financed by contributions from the congregations. However, contributions of just €21.05 million have been received to date. I urge the Minister to pursue those who have not so far contributed to this fund and make sure their contribution is given now and not at a later stage.

Last year, the new Department of Children and Youth Affairs was established, and this will be complemented by the new child and family support agency. The new Children First guidelines were published last year and the heads of the Bill to put the guidelines on a statutory basis have recently been published, along with the Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012. Preparations for the children's rights referendum are on target. Our primary focus is to protect our children and ensure that the horrendous abuses suffered by so many are a thing of the past. We all have a duty to protect children, whether our own or others, and to act when we know that children are at risk.

The issue of the eligibility for the scheme has been raised, and I urge the Minister, Deputy Quinn, to examine whether all former residents of State institutions could be included, given that some did not manage to engage with the redress scheme for a variety of reasons. I listened to the comments of other Deputies on this subject. I have lived in Inchicore all my life, and when I was growing up, the industrial school in Goldenbridge was only 30 seconds away from my hall door. I was conscious of the fact that there were two types of school in Goldenbridge: one for local children and one for residents of the institution. I will not speak in defence of the Sisters of Mercy because I know there were horrific problems in the institution. However, I believe the Sisters of Mercy, who were surrounded at the time by vulnerable young people living in Keogh Square, contributed to the education and health of many children from Inchicore. As someone who has worked alongside many community organisations, I have seen much respect for the sisters who worked tirelessly to educate children in our community, and still do today. As in every sphere, including politics, a small number of people can affect a system so badly that everyone is labelled.

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