Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)

We welcome the establishment of this commission of investigation into historical sexual abuse in schools. It is long overdue, of course. The commission must seek to acknowledge the harm done to the thousands of children in this State. We urge that the commission is carried out in a proper manner, avoids the failings of previous commissions and that it puts survivors at the very heart of everything.

I previously mentioned to the Minister some of the other survivors of mother and baby homes, for example, and the good work being carried out by the Coventry Irish Society. I am hoping the Minister can look at that again. It does specialist support work with survivors in the West Midlands. Its accommodation is inappropriate at the moment in that it is an open-plan office on the fourth or fifth floor of Eden House near the railway station in Coventry. I ask the Minister to try to find some resources in the upcoming budget so that a proper place can be put in to deal with all the services it provides, such as counselling, for the survivors all over the West Midlands.

I also wish to mention the report this morning about the CAMHS cases in Kerry. Although it is slightly tangential, it is important. There are children who have been let down negligently by the State. There are two problems. I do not believe for a second that the evidence and information are not available to publish the north Kerry report. This has been going on for three years. I do not know what is going on inside the HSE, but the information is there. We have been saying for years now that it is going to have to be opened up and that all of the north Kerry cases should be established. While the scheme is working quite well, people whose care commenced prior to 2016 are excluded from the scheme, even those people who have been given the exact same apology as the people whose treatment occurred between 2016 and 2022. People outside of the south Kerry area are also excluded from the scheme. As a result of that, there is another further injustice being done to the families and those children. What is the injustice? It is that the people who are in the scheme get €5,000 to help their case, while those outside the scheme are further punished because they have to dig into their own pockets or find €5,000 so that they can achieve justice. It is going on and on. I cannot understand it. People in the HSE cannot understand it. Why is the scheme not being opened out? I ask the Government to address this gaping injustice in the way the scheme is being operated.

To go back to the point in hand, I welcome that this is finally taking place. I know the Minister’s heart is in the right place. I am sure the commission will be established, be survivor-centred and that the justice survivors deserve will be achieved.

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