Martin Daly (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the motion to establish the commission of investigation into the handling of historical child sexual abuse in both boarding schools and our schools generally. I fully support it. I pay tribute to the courage and resilience of the survivors who have campaigned on this issue. I remember the people who were abused who are not with us directly because of the abuse they suffered in silence, in a system they felt would deny them justice, vindicated in their belief by the abused who were denied justice. The scourge of child sexual abuse in these institutions was, unfortunately, pervasive, hidden and corrosive. It resulted in many blighted lives, some ending in the most tragic of circumstances.

The power of institutions, both religious and State, ensured concealment, dissimulation and deferred justice. It not only protected the abusers but moved them, placing them in new arenas of potential abuse, both here and overseas. It was a system devoid of morality that enabled evil to prosper. It permeated the thinking at the very top echelons of religious and State structures. It was an example of power corrupted, where the preservation of institutions was prioritised above all else, including the safety and well-being of children. It hollowed out the moral and ethical core of this State, which only began to re-emerge in the 1990s.

There was an imbued cultural acceptance that authority knew best and that children were not to be believed. That culture was cultivated in an active protection of institutions. The level of coverup was gargantuan, and it continued right up to the present day. While many members of religious orders, themselves often conditioned or abused, were good people, it cannot be said their good outweighed the evil that was tolerated in their midst. Diocesan schools, both primary and secondary, must also bear responsibility. This is a deep wound for many good people of faith, but it does not change the reality that these organisations have, time and again, resisted scrutiny and accountability.

The lengths some religious orders went to in protecting their financial assets has been truly monumental. The deal reached with the State in the early 2000s, viewed now with 20:20 vision of hindsight - and that is being generous - appears to have helped many institutions avoid real accountability. Even with reduced liability, many of these institutions still did not meet their obligations. It is now time to allow both psychological and emotional restitution and then financial accountability for their abusers and the institutions that shielded them.

This motion is about justice long overdue. It is acknowledging the truth, the pain, and the extraordinary courage of survivors who have spoken out. The findings of the scoping inquiry were devastating. There were thousands of allegations and hundreds of schools, and a pattern of silence and inaction that spanned generations. Behind every statistic is a person, a child, a life, forever altered. Survivors came forward not just to be heard but to ask the State to act. Today, we have taken the important step in answering that call. I fully support the Government's decision to establish a full commission of investigation with a remit that includes all types of schools. That broader scope is critical. It was a direct request from survivors, and it has been answered.

I also welcome the acceptance of nearly all of the scoping inquiry's recommendations, including a strengthened child protection system and legal reforms. The work ahead on financial redress will not be easy, but it is critical. Survivors have been clear: accountability must include those who oversaw and enabled abuse. I welcome the Government's commitment to explore every legal and constitutional mechanism to ensure that institutions are held to account and contribute meaningfully to any redress scheme.

Just as important is how we support survivors today. I commend the Government on ensuring clear information is available on how survivors can access counselling, report abuse, and seek help. Services such as One in Four and the dedicated Garda units are essential. This is not only about confronting our past; it is about safeguarding our present and shaping a just, compassionate, future where the rights of children are never again subordinated to the protection of institutions. We owe that to the survivors. We owe it to the children of today, and we must get it right.

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