Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I believe sexual abuse is the most heinous of all crimes, especially when the victims are children. It stays with them forever; trust is betrayed; lives are destroyed forever and families broken. On behalf of the State, I apologise to the people who were sexually abused when they were children in day schools before 1992 and for the State's delay thereafter in acknowledging that it had a responsibility to protect them. As Mr. Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill has reported, had a system to report abuse "been in place in the years before 1992 when all of the historic child sexual abuse occurred in national schools ... the prevailing culture of impunity which permitted these crimes to occur, could not have existed or survived." I thank Mr. Justice O'Neill for the two years of work he has done since his appointment by the former Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Bruton.

Procedures should have been in place before 1992 to record and act on allegations of sexual abuse by teachers and staff. They were not and Governments prior to 1992 failed in their responsibility to do so. Successive Governments since, including this one, have not put right this historical wrong and so have perpetuated it. We will seek to right that wrong now. The intentions may have been honourable, to provide for abuse survivors, while protecting taxpayers who, ultimately, has to pay the bill for things for which they were not responsible. It was wrong to make the terms of the ex gratiascheme so restrictive. The State will now make payments without undue delay to the 13 people whose appeals have been successful. It is clear that there are other cases in which survivors did not appeal or did not apply in the first place and they will have to be re-examined.

It may involve reopening the scheme. I have asked the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy McHugh, to prepare options for the Government in consultation with the Attorney General. I join the Minister in calling on patron bodies to make available any information and documents they have. The same applies to the Department of Education and Skills.

I recognise the campaigning and advocacy role of Louise O'Keeffe, on her own behalf and that of others. Even today, many victims of sexual abuse do not report it, but the fact that people such as Louise do gives them hope, courage and some comfort. Without meaningful action, apologies on their own do not count for very much. The best apology we can make to Louise O'Keeffe and all other survivors is to say further action will be taken. The State failed them at the time and failed them again when it did not own up to its responsibility. We will not fail them a third time. The Minister will make a further statement on the matter tomorrow afternoon.

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