Liam Fitzgerald (Fianna Fail)

It became clear that the lack of a redress scheme was seriously impeding the work of the commission and therefore the Government moved to establish one. The necessary legislation was enacted last year, as we know.

On CORI and the question of what the Government did, would have done or should have done, very few positive proposals are being made by the Opposition. It is suggesting that the Government gave in too easily, that it made a mess of the matter and that it is hammering the taxpayer. The fact is that it decided from the beginning that the primary responsibility rested with it because it had been the supervisory and inspectorate authority for all the institutions concerned down through the decades, as the Minister will confirm. For the first time in the history of the State the Government rightly acknowledged in public that the primary responsibility rested with the State and the Government as the voice of the State. Therefore, it said it would set up the redress scheme. Only later did the religious orders decide that a voluntary contribution would be made.

I am delighted that on "Questions and Answers" last night – I did not see it but it I heard a report pertaining thereto this morning on "Morning Ireland"– Fr. Seán Healy invited the religious orders to conduct an audit of all their assets, properties and wealth and to publish the results in the public arena. Maybe some of the outlandish, reckless and widely sweeping statements we have heard from some media commentators and Opposition politicians might be brought better into focus when this is done and maybe they will see the error of their ways. Maybe they are right, but I believe they have been jumping the gun. Some of those who aspire to statesmanship and to senior positions in Government – I stress the word "aspire"– should note that the words they are using, the emotions they are generating and the confusion they are causing in the public arena serve them poorly with regard to their future careers.