Seanad debates
Wednesday, 8 October 2003
Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse: Statements (Resumed).
In that context, when the Taoiseach said that everything was not right and apologised to Ms Justice Laffoy, his actions were in complete contrast to those of the Department of Education and Science, under Deputy Noel Dempsey, who was quite defensive of the whole mechanism. There was no apology on his part and he obviously tried to put a different spin on the matter. It would have been far better had he put up his hand like the Taoiseach and said the issue was not handled perfectly. The spin that appeared afterwards suggested that if the process were to continue as it was progressing, it would take ten to 12 years to complete and that many of those involved would have passed away. In fairness to Ms Justice Laffoy, had she received the resources she requested the process could have been completed in four to five years. We should await the sequence of events that occurs under the new appointee to see how long it might take. It is important to establish finality in whatever time it takes, preferably in a short timeframe.
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