Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)

I am sorry.

The priest in question was advertised as a spiritual director for a pilgrimage to Fatima, a location where he could have unsupervised access to children. The head of the order did not know he had gone to Fatima until I told him.

Similarly the priest travelled to Rome in Easter 2011 without informing the designated person or Pope Benedict in his role as vicar of Rome. Only last year when I started to make inquiries into the issue at Carraig Na bhFear that the Missionaries of the Scared Heart wrote to the superior general in Rome asking for the priest to be removed from the priesthood. Only in the past few weeks did the superior general forward this request on to the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith.

It is my information that the first allegation of abuse against this priest was investigated in the 1980s by Fr. Ciarán Mac Cárthaigh. I have grave concerns for the many victims of Carraig Na bhFear and Cloyne who have not yet sought help to deal with the crimes that were perpetrated against them. I met with Cardinal O'Malley of Boston and following the Boston example, myself and Ian Elliot, the chief executive officer of the church's national board for safeguarding children, met with the Missionaries of the Scared Heart, including the incoming provincial superior, Fr. Joe McGee, as well as Fr. Pat Courtney, on 23 June 2011. At this meeting, they indicated they would follow the example of Boston and contact past pupils and teachers of the Carraig Na bhFear school during the period in question. The order would also place advertisements in the Irish Examiner outlining that abuse had taken place and urged victims to come forward to get help. They have since told me they will not do this.

I have asked Ian Elliot to carry out a review into the Missionaries of the Scared Heart child protection policy as a matter of extreme urgency. The order should follow the example of Archbishop Diarmuid Martin to employ a retired Garda detective to interview on a weekly basis all priests which the order has placed on restricted ministry order.

The laws of the statute of limitations for civil cases need to be extended for child abuse. The whistleblower legislation has to protect good priests and people who come forward. Mandatory reporting legislation, similar to that in Western Australia, needs to be introduced. The Children First child protection policy guidelines need to be put on a statutory footing.

Parents need to be aware that while no charges were pressed despite the seven allegations of abuse reported to four different Garda stations against Fr. Donncha Mac Cárthaigh, the aforementioned priest-----