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

I am sure the Minister will recall the case of Louise O'Keeffe, who was only eight years old when she was abused by her primary school teacher in County Cork in the 1970s. As the Minister knows, she sought justice against the State and against the Department of Education and Skills. Her case was relentlessly contested by the State. She was pursued at every step. The State won in the domestic courts. In the aftermath of the Supreme Court ruling in favour of the State, the State Claims Agency wrote to other victims to tell them that if they continued with their cases, the State would pursue them for costs.

Not surprisingly, faced with the prospect of huge legal bills of hundreds of thousands of euro and a Supreme Court ruling against them, 210 out of 250 victims dropped their cases. The Minister knows all of this. John Allen was one of those victims. Just like Louise O'Keeffe, he was sexually abused in his school. His abuser was tried and convicted yet there has been no justice for him. After years of injustice, Louise O'Keeffe did eventually obtain a judgment in her favour in the European Court of Human Rights. This judgment found the State to be in breach of its obligation to protect schoolchildren from sexual abuse and to be in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights. The State's response to that judgment has been extremely revealing, namely, a continued obsession with avoiding liability.

John Allen is now one of five victims who wish to re-open their cases against the State. They have sought to have their notice of discontinuance set aside in the High Court in the aftermath of the O'Keeffe judgment. However, the State continues to prevent Mr. Allen and other victims from pursuing justice and it contested his case and again succeeded. However, it should note the commentary of Mr. Justice Barrett ruling in the State's favour when he wondered whether victims would ever see the day when such injustice as may have been done to them was finally righted by a foot-dragging State.

When does the Government propose to stop dragging its feet? John Allen is back in the High Court today on a matter of costs. I want the Minister to give an absolute commitment to the Dáil that the State will not pursue Mr. Allen or other victims for costs in cases such as these. I also want him to tell us when the State will facilitate rather than frustrate victims from pursuing their just cases through our courts.

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