Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I commend the Deputy for tabling this motion and Deputy Clare Daly for her prior motion because we can never scrutinise such situations sufficiently. I say that despite the cynical comments of Deputy Connolly about my party, Fianna Fáil. I remind her and others that they do not have a monopoly on care and compassion. Fianna Fáil as a party is very compassionate and concerned about some of the unfolding stories in relation to Caranua.

This motion again sheds a light on a very shameful part of this country’s history. The Ryan report of 2009 laid bare the full extent of the horrific treatment that was meted out to children who were placed in religious institutions. We cannot and should not ever forget that. The €110 million that was given to Caranua by religious congregations was supposed to enhance the lives of abuse survivors. The money was supposed to be spent on health and well-being, housing support, education, learning and development and in some small way to try to address the profound damage done to people who were placed in those institutions. We know that some 5,000 survivors of the possible 15,000, one third of eligible applicants, have applied to the scheme since January 2014.

I contend that issues became apparent as soon as clients began to make calls to avail of the support on offer. I and other Members have heard of significant communication issues, namely, calls unanswered and not responded to, application forms delayed for months, non-allocation of case managers and case managers being changed frequently and a lack of clarity on entitlements. They are just some of the issues of concern that have been raised. It became apparent quite quickly that the organisation had commenced dealing with survivors without sufficient processes and procedures in place.

I have spoken to many survivors and heard that old feelings were then triggered such as not having a voice, not being worthy, not being deserving of help and respect and feeling fearful and intimidated. Caranua rightly provided counselling for survivors and one of the issues the counsellors are dealing with relate to the experiences of survivors with the agency that was established to support them. It is shocking to think that the fund established to support individuals has in many cases resulted in further trauma to an already vulnerable group of individuals.

Serious concerns have been raised regarding the administration of the fund. We know that some people have been left waiting up to 18 months for cheques to be paid. Survivors of institutional child abuse have rightfully queried why the administration costs are being paid out of the general compensation fund. They feel that money set aside for them is being unnecessarily squandered on administration costs. There are serious concerns that the increasing administrative costs will reduce the dwindling redress funds available to survivors. The introduction of new, complicated and confusing guidelines for survivors and the seemingly arbitrary €15,000 limit on payments have caused significant problems and that should be acknowledged. Survivors describe themselves as being re-traumatised by the body because of the issues I have outlined and many survivors feel that Caranua has failed in its core duty to assist them in living full and dignified lives.

Survivors have spoken to me about feeling intimidated, not respected, upset and traumatised. One of my constituents, a man whom I know for many years, is a survivor of an industrial school. He put his past behind him, worked hard and raised a family all the while keeping the trauma of his childhood to himself so as not to burden his family. He phoned a helpline having watched a documentary on the redress scheme and now considers it the worst thing he ever did. Engaging with the redress system felt like abuse all over again because of the manner in which he was treated and he felt re-traumatised by the whole experience.

The ongoing review of eligibility and of approved services for Caranua needs to be completed and then considered by the Joint Committee on Education and Skills, which I chair, together with the views of stakeholders. I cannot over-emphasise the importance of getting the views of the stakeholders. Full consultation with the survivors is required. The review must address the operational failure in its service provision and administration. Survivors should be consulted in a meaningful way and the process should be survivor-led and survivor-centred. Only in that way can we help to restore the dignity of survivors in a fair, compassionate and respectful way.

As my colleague, Deputy Thomas Byrne, outlined, Fianna Fáil's countermotion calls on the Joint Committee on Education and Skills to examine the recommendations of the review carefully and to engage with all stakeholders. Caranua must fairly and efficiently provide support and services to all survivors of institutional abuse and acknowledge and address the dissatisfaction with some of its operations. I will hand over to my colleague, Deputy Eugene Murphy.

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