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

There seems to be a marginalisation of the contact or engagement in interfaith dialogue between the Taoiseach and the churches. The point I want to specifically zone in on relates to a case I raised last week, that of John Allen. We are rightly talking about the horrors of the past but, right now, current Government policy is treating in an appalling manner victims of child sexual abuse in primary schools across the country. We had the Louise O'Keeffe case, which went all the way to the European Court of Human Rights and which found in her favour. The subsequent interpretation and application of that decision by the State has been shocking in its cynicism and is an attempt to narrow the application of the judgment in regard to the cases of people like John Allen, whose abusers have been convicted and are in jail. Has the Taoiseach discussed this with the religious orders? In this case it was a Christian Brother who abused Mr. Allen and was convicted.

The Taoiseach inadvertently misled the House last week when he said the European Court of Human Rights had decided on the idea of prior complaint. It did not. It is the Government that decided on prior complaint, interpreting the court decision. I would ask the Taoiseach to, at a later date, go back over the transcripts and correct the record of the House. I do not believe he intentionally misled the House but I think it was misled in that regard.

I put it to the Taoiseach there is a need to engage with the religious orders in regard to this cohort of our population right now. They went to the Supreme Court and they were threatened with costs. There is culpability of successive Governments on this, as I have said, but I am saying now and have been saying for the past year that we need to do right by current victims of child sexual abuse. We can go on about the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and 1970s but it is happening right now. These people are financially ruined, are in very difficult circumstances and are psychologically under enormous pressure. I think it is unacceptable and it speaks very badly of the Government in terms of its lack of humanity and discretion in dealing with this. It is not that huge numbers have been through the courts. Even to take the cases where convictions have taken place, there is no compensation and there is no reaching out to these victims.

See this speech in context