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

I welcome the Government's commitment to establish a commission of investigation in the wake of the awful revelations about abuse of children in religious-run schools as illustrated in Mary O’Toole’s scoping inquiry. I also pay tribute to Mark and David Ryan. Can we have clarity from the Taoiseach on the timing of when the Government will introduce the terms of reference, given that we are all conscious that this Dáil has a very limited time to run? When will we have those terms of reference? Furthermore, can we have a debate on another really serious incidence of abuse in a different religious-run institution, namely, a hospital? I speak of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, and the appalling case of the convicted abuser Dr. Michael Shine. Deputy Ged Nash, who has worked on this issue for a long time, and I last week met some of the survivors of abuse perpetrated by Dr. Shine. We are conscious that approximately 300 people have come forward. This was a religious-run hospital run by the Medical Missionaries of Mary. There has not been an indication from the Taoiseach or the Government as to whether it supports the holding of a scoping exercise akin to that carried out by Mary O’Toole or the establishment of a commission of investigation. Given the short timeframe in which we are all working, we would like clarity on those issues.

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