Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. Very often issues get a wave of attention in the public media and then tend to drift to the side in terms of consistency of focus and urgent intervention mechanisms that should have been put in place to enable their further investigation and also to facilitate other victims to come forward. We were shocked by the Maíria Cahill revelations because they revealed a very dark side to the Sinn Féin-IRA movement over a number of decades, and in particular the degree to which sex abusers within the movement were protected as a deliberate strategy.

I put it to the Taoiseach that when victims come forward to speak, the very least that should be done is that they should be allowed to speak free of any attempt to undermine them or their integrity. I just spoke with Maíria Cahill before I came to the Chamber this afternoon. She again asked that the online campaign that has been ongoing on a daily basis to undermine her and abuse her should stop. I recall the words of the Tánaiste to Deputy Adams that he would please call off the dogs of war on Maíria Cahill in terms of the vicious online abuse that has been an unseemly feature of what has transpired since Maíria Cahill gave her interviews.

This evening, there will be further revelations on the "Spotlight" programme by Paudie McGahon, yet another victim of abuse by a senior IRA member. I met with Paudie McGahon quite some time ago. I did not seek the meeting, nor have I ever tried to utilise any of these issues for political gain, as has been alleged. That is a constant mantra trotted out by Sinn Féin and others. When victims come forward, they come forward. I have met victims in many different walks of life who were victims of various institutions. It just so happens that in this case two victims came to tell me their story and Paudie McGahon was one of them. It is a horrific story in itself about the abuse that was perpetrated on him by a senior member of the IRA, but worse again is the fact that a kangaroo court was held. He was invited to the kangaroo court by a Sinn Féin public representative and by the IRA movement. He was given a range of advices. He was informed that the member who had abused him was in custody and had been guilty of abusing other victims. They were invited to either dispose of the individual themselves; that the IRA would dispose of him; or other options.

Implicit in all of that is a refusal to bring all of that information to the Garda. The people in possession of the knowledge relating to Paudie McGahon should not have protected the individual concerned but should have sent all of the detail to the Garda, but they did not. He was told himself that if he whispered anything to the Garda, he would be found at the side of a road somewhere. That is the level of protection he got as a victim. It is extremely sickening to have to listen to protestations about the past and respite for people in the past when a case such as this happened in recent times, namely, 2002. Paudie McGahon was asked if he wanted to see an in-house psychologist that the IRA movement itself was making available to help him deal with the situation.

Deputy Adams himself said he is aware that the Provisional IRA took actions in relation to abusers which involved keeping the crimes away from the authorities, but so too did Sinn Féin on this occasion. There was not the usual divide between the military and civil wings in this respect. Both were acting in unison and concord in dealing with this particular case. Honest and transparent answers are required, not attempts to bury the case in the past and into a process which would mean it would not get any articulation. I asked the Taoiseach about the matter in my questions. I went to Belfast to speak with the Minister of Justice, Mr. Ford, in the aftermath of the Maíria Cahill case. I believe a cross-Border mechanism should be developed to at least facilitate other victims to come forward, who might not want to go public. Victims themselves can decide whether they want to go public. In order to get some sense of closure on abuse they suffered, there should at least be some opportunity to articulate it and bring it forward to a proper forum which would have the right capacity, backup and supports to enable victims to achieve that.

There is a need for far more urgent intervention with both the Northern authorities and the British Government. We hear a lot about the past, which is important, but this is just as important as other issues that have been dealt with on a government-to-government basis. I refer to big cases that were the subject of the Good Friday Agreement, the St. Andrews Agreement and other agreements. This is just as important but there is no excuse for it to be put to one side because it might not suit or be politically convenient. I ask that the Taoiseach would engage with the British Prime Minister, Mr. Cameron, and the Northern Ireland Executive to pursue the matter more vigorously.

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