Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

The blame for this fiasco lies squarely at the feet of the Government parties, the Progressive Democrats and Fianna Fáil. Their mishandling of the whole affair and lack of co-operation was referred to in Ms Justice Laffoy's interim report which stated that it had to be observed that, in general, the Department, as respondent to the vast majority of allegations which the committee is investigating, had not adopted a constructive approach to its role in the inquiry. The blame for that must surely fall at the feet of the Minister who is the head of that Department. The report also stated, on page 157, that the committee was assured that the issue of resources would be addressed but over a year later, resources were still an issue. The blame for that lies with the political parties and the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Dempsey, must accept responsibility as head of the Department.

A constituent of mine is awaiting the publication of the redress Bill and wants the institutions she attended to be listed in it. We were given assurances before last Christmas that it would be published in the last Dáil term, but now it has been moved to this Dáil term. The lady for whom I am working is dying from cancer. She wants closure in this case but the inaction of the Minister and the Government has added greatly to her distress. It is embarrassing for me to find out one day that the matter will be resolved before Christmas, only to find it dragging on beyond Christmas. We are now back to square one again. That is very unfortunate for the lady involved and her family. I imagine there are many similar cases because, invariably, many of those who went through these institutions are quite elderly now and would not have good health. Unfortunately, many who have passed away will never get redress.

It is important to point out also that many religious played a major part in educating people in the past. Unfortunately, the Government's mishandling of this whole affair has tarred all religious orders with the same brush. If the Government had given the necessary resources to Ms Justice Laffoy and ensured a speedy conclusion to the work of the commission into child abuse in residential institutions, it would have brought closure to these cases. The many religious and non-religious in residential institutions who played a positive and constructive part in people's lives in the past would be acknowledged but, unfortunately, the issue is dragging all of those into the same area of disrepute, which is regrettable. It is worth pointing out that in many cases if it were not for the religious orders, many people would not have received an education. It is easy for us now to criticise them, but times were different then.

I heard one of the panellists on "Questions and Answers" make the valid point that child abuse is still taking place. This morning on the Order of Business, a Fianna Fáil Senator agreed with Senator Terry who raised the issue of the lack of appointments of social workers. The educational welfare officers were appointed but a dispute took place which lasted over a year during which schools could not report students missing. This Government is responsible for a litany of failures which amount to modern day child abuse. No doubt in 30 years' time, people could throw similar accusations at us.

I became aware of a case lately where a school reported a family missing to a social worker but did not get any word back on the case. The school contacted the social worker some weeks later only to be told that the social worker visited the family in question but there was no one at home. When the principal involved asked the social worker, "What did you do then?", the reply was "Nothing". That represents a complete breakdown of social work and the Government must take responsibility for it.

I could list many other cases where the State is failing to protect children in this modern age, namely, sub-standard school buildings. I became aware of a case lately where a secondary school was promised a new building by the Government Deputies in the constituency. A student in a wheelchair could not use the main part of the school. The school was never built, however, even though the Taoiseach arrived in the constituency involved and posed for photographs. The student in the wheelchair has since left the school having reached the age of 18 but she had to go through her secondary school years unable to access the PE hall which, for some reason, was on the second level of the school. That is a form of child abuse because that student was denied a basic right.

An area of concern I would share relates to the cost of all these commissions. Like many Senators in the House, we have all been part of delegations on behalf of schools in our constituencies looking for funding, only to be told that no money is available. We need to get a balance in terms of the cost of the commission versus the actual current needs of schools. That is why it is very important to reach a speedy conclusion to this issue, but the Government is not capable of ensuring that happens. That is a disadvantage to the victims, their families and those associated with the institutions involved.

There is a question mark over whether the Minister for Education and Science is capable of co-operating fully with the inquiry and the suggestion has been made that the inquiry should be moved to the Taoiseach's Department. I would welcome such a move for everyone's sake because it might result in a speedier conclusion to the issue. People accept that those who were wronged in this case deserve compensation and it is up to us, as legislators, to ensure that happens.

I urge the Minister and the Government to allocate the resources necessary to this area. It is well able to do so in other areas. We do not want to face another costly inquiry due to Government inaction. I was struck by the fact that London is bidding to host the Olympic Games at a cost of €2.2 billion. I heard a figure of €1 billion for this inquiry, which would cause grave concern. That is an interesting comparison. It is time for action from this Government. Having appointed a commission, it should give it the resources necessary for everyone's sake.