Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

While I welcome the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, it is regrettable that the Minister responsible for this sorry saga is not present. I thought the Minister for Education and Science would come to the House and take the opportunity to clarify the misinformation emanating from his Department and provide accurate information to the public regarding what happened in the past. Unfortunately, he has failed to do so and I ask the Government to take responsibility for this issue from him and his Department because everybody will question the independence of the commission, given the trauma that has been caused over the past few months.

While the Minister for Social and Family Affairs stated that this was the first Government in 30 years to address the issue, there must be a realisation that Fianna Fáil was in single party or coalition Government for much of that time and failed to take action. To verify and consolidate that stance, the Government and long-serving personnel in the Department of Education and Science, who knew about the disturbing features of institutions over the years, have failed to release pertinent documentation into the public domain. There has been collaboration between officials and for that reason I ask the Government to review the continuation of the process within that Department under the auspices of the Minister for Education and Science.

While the Taoiseach's apology was made in good faith, its sincerity rings hollow in the current climate. From the moment Ms Justice Laffoy resigned the chairmanship of the commission to inquire into child abuse on 2 September, the Government has engaged in a campaign of concealment to hide the misgivings of the commission, its role and funding. The victims of child abuse deserve better. The Government mishandled the commission from the beginning. It has serious questions to answer but nobody can get a reply.