Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State for being here. I want to draw to his attention what is not happening within Scouting Ireland. The problem is this is a legacy issue that goes back to the 1980s. I went to the one of the same schools as many of these people did. It is about abuse and a specific teacher who got ten years in jail for raping young boys predominantly as a schoolteacher, a scout leader and a scout commissioner for the diocese of Cloyne. He also ran the summer camp in Mount Melleray. Back in 2018 or 2019, Scouting Ireland put out a notice asking that anybody who was affected by this should make contact with it so those people who were directly affected by this individual could engage in a process where they might get some solace. However, I met with a survivor very recently and he told me that back as far as 2019 he contacted Scouting Ireland but he has never heard anything from the organisation. At the time he was a minor so Tusla was involved. The individual told me he would have a better chance emptying the Red Sea with a bucket with no ass in it than getting any help from Tusla. He has told me Scouting Ireland has changed its legal team, possibly twice, since 2019 when he brought the abuse to its attention. His legal team, which he has to pay, feel they have been stalled and they cannot get any answers to this. This was reported on a number of times and I will quote one or two of the headlines to give the Minister of State what was in the public domain. One was "Man repeatedly raped by teacher in classroom as an 11-year-old boy seeks apology over vile attacks". That individual when he was old enough - because, again, he did not get any answers - left the country and tried to make a new life for himself somewhere else.

The unfortunate thing is that I know four, possibly five, who left as well over the craic with this, but they left through suicide.

Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that according to the Dáil Salient Rulings of the Chair, Nos. 467 and 468, Members should not comment, criticise or make any charges against a person outside the House or an official either by name or in such a way to make him identifiable.

Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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I did not name anybody. I am well aware of that. I thank the Acting Chair. The case about the schoolteacher is well documented. What I am trying to raise here, as the individual asked me to do, is to find out what recourse this person and others have right now. We have learned nothing from the mother and baby home scandal. What can I tell this individual? Somebody is going to tell me that it is a legal issue. Scouting Ireland is being paid taxpayers' money. For starters, I would like to know how much it has spent defending the indefensible. How much has it paid out in legal costs, again trying to bury what has happened?

In 1982 The Stranglers' "Golden Brown" was No. 1. I was not thrown out of the school for standing up, but they said to me that they would much prefer if I did not come back after the Easter holidays. I am speaking from personal experience. I knew this individual. He was a nasty individual. I am not here for kudos for me. What I am trying to get is information on behalf of those who are still alive, and still brave enough to talk up, who are being stone-walled left, right and centre. Scouting Ireland has been deplorable, absolutely diabolical. It has spent more time, energy and money trying to bury this when the person got ten years in jail for it. Scouting Ireland is not doing what it is supposed to do, which is to look after those who were interfered with by this teacher. Where do I go?

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this very harrowing and distressing matter, which I am answering on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Naughton.

Child safeguarding in Scouting Ireland is a matter that is taken extremely seriously by the Department. As the Deputy is aware, Scouting Ireland is a voluntary organisation and a registered charity governed by an independent board of directors. It receives an annual grant from the Department of Education and Youth under youth services grants. Scouting Ireland receives the majority of its funding through membership subscriptions and fund-raising. I believe that Scouting Ireland would acknowledge that young people were not always properly protected in the past in the scouting movement. Today, Scouting Ireland has a well resourced safeguarding office, supported by dedicated funding from the Department of Education and Youth. As a major recipient of funding under the youth services grant scheme, YSGS, officials from the Department engage regularly with Scouting Ireland to ensure proper governance in relation to funding from the Department and to ensure that the organisation has adequate child safeguarding structures in place. Officers from the youth affairs unit, which administers the youth services grant scheme, hold biannual governance meetings with the board and senior management of Scouting Ireland. Safeguarding is a standing item on the agenda for these meetings.

As I mentioned, since 2019 dedicated funding has been provided to Scouting Ireland to support its safeguarding office. In 2025, €251,377 of Scouting Ireland's overall YSGS grant of €1,504,312 was ring-fenced for this safeguarding office. Since 2023, Scouting Ireland has been submitting regular reports to the Department of Children, Disability and Equality and, following the transfer of youth functions, to the Department of Education and Youth. The reports received to date have been reviewed by officials and have been deemed satisfactory. Ongoing engagement between officials and Scouting Ireland indicates that safeguarding is a strong focus and priority for Scouting Ireland, and that robust safeguarding structures are in place.

It is a requirement for renewal of funding under the youth services grant scheme that funded organisations, including Scouting Ireland, meet the following conditions: that the organisation adheres to national child protection guidelines and procedures; that the organisation has policies in line with legislation, on the Children First Act 2015 and Garda vetting; that the organisation's recruitment and selection processes are in line with the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Acts 2012-2016; that the organisation has a child protection policy and accompanying procedures; that the organisation's board review their child safeguarding policy, to ensure it abides by all legal requirements, and have written procedures in place.

Scouting Ireland is an important part of the youth sector in Ireland. Its 2024 progress report showed that 33,985 young people were taking part in scouting as members of 392 groups, led by over 7,000 volunteers. The Department is committed to supporting the important work carried out by Scouting Ireland. I hear Deputy Buckley's message loud and clear. There are some aspects of it that the Department maybe cannot deal with, but I will bring his views back to the Minister.

Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State. I want to let the Acting Chair know that the perpetrator is now deceased and the name is already in the public domain.

I thank the Minister of State for the response from the Minister's office. Every time I come in here, we do not know everything. I see in the response that €251,000 was ring-fenced for safeguarding. I would say Scouting Ireland has spent a lot more than €251,000 on it.

The response also states that the organisation adheres to national child protection guidelines and procedures. I am going to look at them and see whether that is the case because a lot of people are coming to me saying that they have been ignored for years.

In addition, we are told the organisation's board reviews the child safeguarding policy to ensure it abides by all legal requirements and has written procedures in place. I would like to see the written procedures because this individual rang seven years ago and was referred to Tusla, and that is where it stopped.

I am concentrating on this one individual because they gave me the most information. Their life has been ruined. The trauma is still ongoing. The person is very happily married and they have children. They are lucky to still be in a good working relationship in life. All this individual and others want are answers to why they were not safeguarded and why they were not facilitated with help once the reporting started and it all went into the public domain. This issue was raised in July 2003, March 2004 and the most recent article was in 2017. It is not a big secret, but what I am trying to find out is who I can go to in order to make sure that Scouting Ireland lives up to its responsibility and gives these people and others a proper response, and stops stalling and wasting money by using senior counsel and stalling the process in court houses and changing legal counsel to take it on again. It is only costing these people money. I thank the Minister of State for his answer. I will get on to the Minister myself as well. I thank him for his response.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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As previously outlined, child safeguarding in Scouting Ireland and all funded organisations working with children and young people is a matter that is taken extremely seriously by the Department. Departmental officials are satisfied that safeguarding is a priority for Scouting Ireland and that the organisation has appropriate safeguarding structures in place. There continues to be ongoing engagement between departmental officials and Scouting Ireland and this engagement, including the continued effective implementation of the processes and governmental structures that I have outlined to the Deputy, provide assurance that robust safeguarding measures are in place in Scouting Ireland.

Deputy Buckley raised some very historical issues. I am sorry that was not the case many years ago. However, I compliment Scouting Ireland. Over many years when I was growing up, I saw the great work that a lot of the leaders did for all the young men. Unfortunately, there were some who stepped absolutely out of line and those issues are being dealt with today. I again thank Deputy Buckley for raising this issue.