Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

By any standards, Louise O'Keeffe is an extremely courageous woman. Abused as a young child and, no doubt, deeply traumatised as a result, blocked, bullied, browbeaten and threatened by the State, she never lay down. She took her case to the European Court of Human Rights and that court ruled this week that the Irish State is directly liable for the inhuman and degrading treatment of an eight year old girl. It further ruled that this State offered that girl, now an adult, no remedy for that abuse. The court could have gone much further. It could have said, correctly, that this State prevented any degree of fairness, justice or resolution of this case for Louise O'Keeffe.

Responsibility and liability of this State in this case has now been firmly established.

I hear that the Taoiseach has, in the past few minutes, said some words of apology to Louise, which is welcome. It should be said, however, that given the enormity of the wrong done to this woman and to others, those words of apology should have been uttered in this Chamber. Can the Tánaiste tell me whether that apology extends to those other victims of abuse in primary schools? I understand 135 other adults brought cases similar to that of Louise O'Keeffe claiming the Department of Education and Skills and the State did not provide protection and had a liability for the abuse they suffered. As the Tánaiste knows, following the Supreme Court judgment in 2008 in the case taken by Ms O'Keeffe, they received threatening letters telling them they would face legal costs unless they dropped their cases. Is that threat now removed? Can the Tánaiste tell me why last year the Government argued before the European Court of Human Rights that this State had no liability for what happened to children like Louise O'Keeffe? How is it that officials and counsel were sent, on the behalf of the State and this Government, to again attempt to face down this courageous woman?

See this speech in context