Results 681-700 of 1,017,634 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' speaker:Marian Harkin

Third Interim Report of the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse: Statements. (3 Feb 2004)

Noel Dempsey: It did not. There were other earlier programmes.

Third Interim Report of the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse: Statements. (3 Feb 2004)

Jan O'Sullivan: The information was not available.

Third Interim Report of the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse: Statements. (3 Feb 2004)

Olwyn Enright: Why did the Government wait for two years?

Third Interim Report of the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse: Statements. (3 Feb 2004)

Séamus Pattison: There will be opportunities for questions.

Third Interim Report of the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse: Statements. (3 Feb 2004)

Jan O'Sullivan: I call on the Minister to reconsider what appears to be a decision not to transfer the workings of the commission from the Department of Education and Science to the Department of the Taoiseach. Will he implement as soon as possible not just the recommendations of Mr. Justice Ryan but also those of Ms Justice Laffoy which were ignored when she tried continuously to draw the attention of the...

Third Interim Report of the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse: Statements. (3 Feb 2004)

Trevor Sargent: Ba mhaith liom mo chuid ama a roinnt leis na Teachtaí Crowe agus Connolly. I wish to share my time with Deputies Crowe and Connolly. Ms Justice Laffoy expressed a level of frustration rarely seen from the Judiciary. The Government's response to that frustration is beyond belief. It is clear from Ms Justice Laffoy's report that some of the religious orders were co-operative and others were...

Third Interim Report of the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse: Statements. (3 Feb 2004)

Seán Crowe: Many people hold the view that politicians do not live in the real world and are oblivious to what is happening. It is important that Deputies state during this debate that none of us is a stranger to this matter. We all know of individuals who attended schools or some of the institutions where abuse took place. We are familiar with the cases of adults who are still trying to deal with the...

Third Interim Report of the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse: Statements. (3 Feb 2004)

Paudge Connolly: Ms Justice Laffoy's interim report has cast the Department of Education and Science, the Minister and, by extension, the Government in a light which is not very complimentary. Society has become ridden with tribunals and commissions. Most of society's principles are being stampeded on in a manner that would do credit to Saddam Hussein and President George W. Bush's deck of cards. The manner...

Third Interim Report of the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse: Statements. (3 Feb 2004)

Séamus Pattison: We will now take questions.

Third Interim Report of the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse: Statements. (3 Feb 2004)

Olwyn Enright: What status does the Minister give to reports of commissions of inquiry? Will the Minister tell us now what weight he will give to the report of Judge Ryan when it comes out? Will he also deny responsibility when that report is issued? Did the Minister's Department officials report to him that they were not complying — or, as the Minister said, were not in a position to comply — with...

Third Interim Report of the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse: Statements. (3 Feb 2004)

Noel Dempsey: The series of questions posed by the Deputy related to the discovery order to which I have referred over the past few days. A total of 35 people from the Department plus 14 lawyers are employed specifically to comply with the direction. I hope we will be able to meet the needs of the commission in this regard, although it has proven difficult in the past because of the nature of the request....

Third Interim Report of the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse: Statements. (3 Feb 2004)

Olwyn Enright: I stated clearly they were documents the Department did not have.

Third Interim Report of the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse: Statements. (3 Feb 2004)

Noel Dempsey: We are talking about documents which the Department might have had 50, 60 or 70 years ago, although we do not know whether it did — if it did, they may have been lost as far back as the middle of the Second World War — and that might have been relevant. Any reasonable person trying to meet a request such as this would find it very difficult. Notwithstanding the difficulties involved, we...

Third Interim Report of the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse: Statements. (3 Feb 2004)

Olwyn Enright: The phrase used by Ms Justice Laffoy was "irrelevant documents". No wonder she was overburdened.

Third Interim Report of the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse: Statements. (3 Feb 2004)

Noel Dempsey: This is part of the difficulty. Everybody on the opposite side of the House wants to ignore what the commission's report said about some of the difficulties that have occurred. It said that some were caused because the Department did not put enough resources in place. I have accepted that we were on a learning curve. We tried as best we could. At the time I had only been in the Department for...

Third Interim Report of the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse: Statements. (3 Feb 2004)

Olwyn Enright: I did not. Ms Justice Laffoy called them that.

Third Interim Report of the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse: Statements. (3 Feb 2004)

Noel Dempsey: ——were handed over to the commission. The commission said that there was insufficient clarity in the directions. It also stated that it may not have allowed sufficient time for the Department to retrieve the documents. That is also a reasonable explanation and I compliment the commission on its even-handed manner in dealing with the issue.

Third Interim Report of the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse: Statements. (3 Feb 2004)

Pat Carey: I must now call on the Labour Party's and the Technical Group's representatives.

Third Interim Report of the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse: Statements. (3 Feb 2004)

Olwyn Enright: There are other questions the Minister has not answered.

Third Interim Report of the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse: Statements. (3 Feb 2004)

Pat Carey: We must conclude by 7.30 p.m.