David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)

I welcome the Minister to the House. I supported most of the legislation that has come before the House from the Government. I would have had concerns about some aspects of those Bills, the Medical Practitioners Bill being one example, but I saw it as a means to an end and supported it. I cannot support this Bill, however, on the grounds that there are many people in this State who are suffering as a result of the consequences of abuse, be it mental, physical or sexual.

Senators made mention earlier of some of the television documentaries. I recall watching the "States of Fear" documentary. It was one of the first documentaries to expose what was happening and caused shock across the State. I am in my 30s and I see this as one of the worst chapters in the history of the State in that vulnerable children people who should have been protected by the State were treated in this way. In an attempt to try to get my head around these issues, so to speak, when watching those programmes I often tried to put myself in the shoes of the victims in those institutions who lived in fear of the people who operated them and who felt that the State was letting them down. One can imagine the fear they had to endure and their belief that there was no place for them to go. Those institutions were the place where they should have been protected, yet they were the places they were abused. For that reason I cannot support the Bill which puts a timeframe on the redress board because many victims have not had an opportunity to use the redress board. I will deal with some of those issues shortly.

The setting up of the redress board was more than a means of compensation. It was about the State acknowledging the failure in terms of its responsibilities. It was also motivated by compassion and concern for the victims. This State cannot do enough to compensate those victims not just financially, but to ensure they get the justice they deserve. There is nothing we can do that would be seen as too much and if anything, it would be too little because of the failures. We cannot make up for the failures of previous generations but we can certainly ensure this generation does the right thing. We can certainly ensure it is the generation that ensures the abuses do not happen again, that robust mechanisms, procedures and laws are put in place to prevent child abuse taking place in any institution or home and that victims are given every opportunity to seek redress.

From the outset, my view and that of my party was that the redress scheme was fundamentally flawed. Many found it overly complicated and, more often than not, it involved a traumatic experience that succeeded in reopening the emotional scars of the past.

The recent Cloyne report makes it clear that clerical abuse is still a major issue. That the report covers the period up to 2009 shows the Catholic Church has not learned from its mistakes. I referred to this in another debate recently. I welcome the move by the Minister to amend the law so the withholding of information on serious offences against a child will be a criminal offence. This is very important and my party and I support it.

It is interesting that in response to the findings of the Cloyne report Bishop Gerard Clifford, the auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese of Armagh, said the church's standing was prioritised over the victims of abuse and that this was a great disappointment. This is a gross understatement; it was much more than a disappointment.

Let me refer briefly to some of the specifics. The redress scheme is still processing a backlog of more than 1,000 applications. However, the applicants can only apply for compensation if they can prove their circumstances are exceptional. This usually means physical and mental illness prevented them from applying earlier. It is wrong that the avenue of redress will be closed to them if this Bill is passed.

When the Ryan report was published in 2009, Irish centres in Britain were inundated with inquiries from people who wanted to apply for redress. Many who have lost all contact with Ireland knew nothing about the Residential Institutions Redress Board and were unaware they had a right to apply for compensation for the hurt they suffered. A number of independent reports have shown that many of the tens of thousands of children who were abused left the country and ended up in the United States. Every opportunity should be given to those victims to ensure they are aware of the redress board and that compensation is available to them.

Members have made reference to the timeframe. It is ironic that while it took ten years to produce the Ryan report given the wealth of knowledge and experience and legal backup made available to those compiling it, we are putting a deadline on the timeframe in which victims will be able to obtain redress. There is something grossly wrong with this. Many survivors will see something wrong with it also. One cannot impose a deadline or put a price on child abuse.

While I have difficulties with the Bill and my party will oppose it, I welcome the view expressed recently by the Minister that every step will be taken by the Government to ensure the lessons of the past will be learned, that the Catholic Church will be taken on, as it should be, that anybody connected with that institution will be subject to the laws of this land, and that children will be protected. Nobody should have to go through the trauma that abused children experienced in the past. As a father of two young children, I would be horrified if I knew that, somewhere in this country tonight, children were being abused while in State care or in the home, or being abused by any member of the clergy. Every step must be taken to prevent this. I welcome the fact that some positive steps are being taken but my party cannot support the deadline established in this Bill for the reasons I have outlined. I will deal with some of these reasons in greater detail on Subsequent Stages.