Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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33. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps being taken to improve the administration and to extend the scope of the fund in view of recent comments made by the CEO of Caranua in relation to the administration of the fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17090/17]

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I have a specific question for the Minister. What steps have been, are being or will be taken to improve the administration and extend the scope of the Caranua fund in view of the most unacceptable comments the CEO of Caranua concerning the administration of the fund, as well as the hurtful and damaging experiences of many survivors with that board. This has been reported extensively in various print and broadcast media.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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First of all, I think that some of those comments were unfortunate and could be open to misunderstanding. However, as regards the substance of the Deputy's question, Caranua is an independent statutory body established under the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Act 2012 to oversee the use of cash contributions of up to €110 million, pledged by religious congregations, to support the needs of survivors of institutional child abuse. The legislation provides that supports may be available in the areas of health and personal social services, mental health services, education and housing. It is a matter for Caranua itself to determine the range of approved services it will support and the criteria by reference to which decisions may be made in respect of applications.

Following its establishment, Caranua determined the approved services to be provided by it and determined the applications criteria.  I understand that in 2016 Caranua expanded the approved services it provides and amended its criteria to include a range of additional housing and health-related supports.  I have no role in regard to Caranua’s day-to-day activities or matters such as the determination of criteria.

I am aware that there have been concerns raised regarding Caranua in the media and elsewhere. I have met with survivors and I appreciate their concerns. It is vital that in all our dealings with victims of abuse they are dealt with in a sensitive, fair and compassionate manner.

I believe that Caranua has tried to put in place a process that is responsive to the needs of applicants. It has acknowledged the difficulties it has faced especially in the early period when it first began to accept applications. It is required to meet the obligations set out in the 2012 Act and to be accountable. In that regard it should be noted that Caranua will be appearing before the Dáil's Committee of Public Accounts next week.

Caranua's aim is to provide a responsive, friendly and professional service and it has informed me that it takes all complaints seriously. It has a customer service charter, and feedback and complaints policy. There is an independent appeals mechanism and Caranua’s administrative actions are subject to review by the Ombudsman.

It is my intention to carry out a review of eligibility for services provided by Caranua and in that regard draft terms of reference were recently published. A number of submissions were received and these are being considered.  It is hoped to finalise the terms of reference shortly and proceed to the review in the near future. Any change in the eligibility requirement would require legislation.

I will be meeting the new board of Caranua when it is appointed and I will be impressing on it the need to ensure that it continues to be responsive to the needs of applicants.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I thank the Minister for that clarification, but can he stand over a CEO on €87,000 making such comments? She reportedly said:

Some applicants will never be happy and grievances suit a narrative. It suits a narrative of the big bad State and the big bad religious congregations, and so on. We have to face the facts that the damage that has been done to these people [these are the words used by the CEO] is so deep that it does not matter what anybody does.

I will not insult the survivors by finishing the quotation because it is simply appalling. I thank the Minister for clarifying that a review is under way on eligibility. Can he tell me when it started and when it will be completed? There has been a 110% increase in appeals since last year. That in itself speaks volumes about the unease that survivors have with the way they are being treated.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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We recently discussed Caranua in the House. Deputy Clare Daly put forward a Bill that was supported on Second Stage with a time delay, which gives us an opportunity to conduct this review. It is therefore being done according to a tight timeframe. Obviously, I want to ensure that we hear submissions into the review's terms of reference.

As I have acknowledged, I think the comments as reported were unfortunate and could certainly be open to misinterpretation. I also recognise that Caranua has had a difficult job to do. In its initial phase it had a number of logistical difficulties which gave rise to genuine frustration for many people. Some of its administrative requirements can be irksome for applicants. To be fair to Caranua, however, it made improvements in the processes last year. Clearly, the review needs to look afresh at whether we can do more to improve those processes and make them user friendly, while at the same time ensuring that Caranua can fulfil its obligations to the House and show that the moneys it has spent were incurred as per the criteria set out in the legislation.

This is an important piece of work and I regard it as something that should be completed quickly. I know from other speakers in the House that it is regarded as a priority.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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It is important to place on the record that the name Caranua, or new friend, is singularly inappropriate. It is a misuse of the Irish language because the experience of all these survivors is not that they have met a friend.

They have met with delay, obfuscation and the phone not being answered.

There is absolutely no consistency in what survivors get. Sometimes they get a washing machine and sometimes they do not. Sometimes they get a bed which is suited to their needs, and a little bigger than a normal bed, but they do not get the blankets to cover it. This is the level of miserliness with which the scheme has been administered. It gives me no pleasure to repeat this here. I am very familiar with the redress board from a previous life and the survivors, having gone through the board, now having to go through the miserliness of this system, with its total inconsistency and the scale of appeals, speaks volumes. At the very least the CEO on that enormous salary should be asked to apologise.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I have met survivors myself and they have expressed these very concerns. These are the ones who will be subject to the review. Of course there is a customer service charter, a feedback and complaints policy, an appeal mechanism and recourse to the Ombudsman. There are mechanisms in place to try to deal with these inconsistencies. These are standard good practices in any organisation. Part of the review will be to look at why these elements of support are not working in this particular circumstance. This is why it is timely to have a review and ensure we deliver the best we possibly can. I am conscious, having reread some of the Ryan report reviews recently on the way in which the State let down these individuals so badly in the past, that we have an obligation to make sure we support them now in a fair and equitable way. At the same time, I realise Caranua will come before the Committee of Public Accounts and must be able to account for the way it spends its money. There is a balance that must be struck, but I take the Deputy's points and they will be factored into the review.