Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I join other speakers who have welcomed Maíria Cahill to the House to listen to the debate. I also welcome the fact that I got the opportunity to meet Maíria in person yesterday.

Deputy Peter Fitzpatrick made an important point. He said the debate is due to Maíria Cahill. It is important to remember that through her efforts, Maíria has instigated a debate on the wider issue of sexual abuse within the provisional republican movement. Like others, I commend her on her bravery and courage. It is very brave and courageous in the first place for her to waive her anonymity, because for obvious reasons it is very rare that people do so. There is a taboo around the issue, and to do that was in itself a very brave step by Maíria, but it is particularly courageous of her in light of the backlash she has faced. I am sure Maíria thought about that beforehand. She would have anticipated a backlash but she might not have anticipated the extent of it. The backlash is largely from within the ranks of Sinn Féin, from people who want to protect their organisation and, by extension, themselves. For others who are supporters of Sinn Féin – I have seen some of them on Twitter and other fora – it is out of blind loyalty and because many of them are in denial. That might be true of some Sinn Féin members as well and perhaps even some public representatives.

Some Opposition Members have made the same accusation Sinn Féin made, namely, that by raising the issue, members of the Government parties are just being politically opportunist. That accusation could more legitimately be thrown back at those in the Opposition who are so incapable of not attacking the Government that they cannot fully debate the issue and are ambivalent about it. They should reflect on that. The issue is beyond party politics, but it is a political issue because it is about the nature of our democracy and society.

The nub of the issue has been best expressed by Maíria herself. She recently wrote:

The story in this case is about sexual abuse and further trauma caused to me by the IRA and Sinn Féin. Sexual abuse thrives on secrecy. Silence protects the perpetrators. And when the cloak of silence is wrapped around them, abusers take that as a green light to continue.

That’s why Sinn Féin denials of cover-up have been so damaging. That’s why the party president needs to be seen to go to the guards with information. If he were to do that, it would send a very important message to the public, to parents, to perpetrators. To victims. This. Silence. Will. Be. Broken. We will protect you no longer.

What this is about is that Sinn Féin must admit that this happened and it must disclose all the information it has. Otherwise, it will compound the wrongs that have been done. Issues that have been raised by the various speakers from Sinn Féin tonight and previous to this debate very much deflect from the matter. For example, Deputy Adams raised the issue of the wider abuse in society and Deputy Mac Lochlainn raised other cases. In addition, people’s political allegiance has been raised as if that somehow disqualifies what they say.

We are an open democracy and it is because of that we commissioned and debated the Ryan report. We have become a mature, open democracy. That is the reason we are having a debate on this issue today. We need a modern, questioning democracy and Sinn Féin must decide if it wants to be part of that. It certainly holds other institutions to that type of account. If Sinn Féin seeks openness and accountability generally then it must be forthcoming on the matter, participate properly in the debate, disclose the information that is known and admit what happened. Then, as a democracy, we can agree on the necessary steps to be taken.

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