Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)

I speak on behalf of Senator Michael D'Arcy in his absence.

Having listened to survivors and read their e-mails and other correspondence, I ask the Minister if there is room for those who did not avail of the redress scheme on time to apply now. They also have suffered pain. There are many reasons for their failure to apply. One reason could be a lack of confidence, empowerment, knowledge or education. The self-esteem of a survivor of abuse, or of torture as defined by the United Nations, will be on the floor. Many people who have come to my office have suffered flashbacks all their lives and have difficulty forming relationships. Many of them have, admirably, rebuilt their lives, with the help of others. Given those extenuating circumstances, I ask the Minister if there is room for those who did not avail of the scheme on time. Let us consider a person who is excluded from applying, goes on to take a civil case and receives a favourable judgment. Would such a person have access, retrospectively, to the redress board?

Based on my reading and listening, the financial cost is only one of the concerns of survivors. Their big concern is with healing; they consider that redress should help them heal. They really want to see justice done, and that may be in the form of prosecutions. That element of healing is important. If we exclude from the scheme people who were genuinely the subject of abuse and torture, we are likely to make their healing much harder. Many of these survivors are elderly. What humaneness can we offer them?