However, the apology came with a price and the time has now come to put our hands in our pockets. I find it ironic that the members of political parties who joined in that apology have climbed into their cupboards on the issue of the cost of compensation. When the Taoiseach issued the apology on 11 May 1999, the Government was faced with a stark choice. It could no more have chosen to do nothing than it could have chosen to leave the victims to fight tough battles in court, even after the State had apologised. That would have turned the apology into an empty and shameful gesture.