Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

On Tuesday and yesterday, I raised with the Taoiseach the issue of the Spiritans and the horrific abuse of children perpetrated at Blackrock College. At that one school alone, we are now learning of the horrific scale of the abuse that was perpetrated. It was revealed yesterday that 25 of the 120 boys in the class of 1979 have reported abuse. That is a staggering 21%. We know that 300 individuals have come forward disclosing abuse perpetrated upon them, and yet just three of the 77 Spiritans with allegations against them have criminal convictions. The scale of this is staggering.

Deputy Ó Ríordáin, others from the Labour Party and I have been in contact with many of the survivors who have come forward. I welcome the Taoiseach's commitment, in response to my question on Tuesday, that we will have a debate on this matter in the House next week. This is welcome. I also welcome the apology from the Spiritans announced yesterday morning, as well as the announcement that the order will establish an independent process to provide a forum for survivors of abuse to come forward. I salute, as we all do, the bravery of those individuals who have already come forward and made public disclosures. Their courage in doing so has enabled others to step forward too.

We believe, however, that we still need to see an independent inquiry take place, not only to uncover the extent of the abuse perpetrated not just by the Spiritans within one school, but, as it now seems, by other orders in other schools that have not yet been the subject of an inquiry and that have not yet, necessarily, come into the public domain. We have seen other schools named today. We also know that such an inquiry must be survivor-led. It must seek to review the extent of the abuse and, crucially, the existence of institutional cover-ups in individual schools and by particular orders. It should also seek to examine the role of the State and, in particular, its failures and what it could and should have done to prevent abuse in schools where the teachers were paid by the State and the schools were receiving significant public funding.

We are all very conscious of the complexity of establishing such an inquiry. It may, for example, need to be done in a modular fashion. Clearly, we need to hear more from survivors. I welcomed the Taoiseach's indication that he would meet with survivors. We must also consider current concerns. I spoke yesterday about current issues and a person against whom serious allegations of abuse have been made and who continues to live on the grounds of Blackrock College. I am not going to name the individual. The matter with the Garda, as it should be. The reality is that this is not just an historical issue. Not only are perpetrators still living who have evaded any sort of sanctions to date, but there are those currently in leadership roles in particular schools who have been in those posts for so long, many decades in some cases, that it is very difficult to believe they did not have knowledge of the abuse that was being perpetrated there. In advance of next week's debate, therefore, what preliminary thoughts does the Tánaiste and his Government have on how this matter can be investigated by the State?

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