Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I share the Senator's disappointment that today's report from the Comptroller and Auditor General reveals that we are not moving further to a position in which the church honours even the two commitments it made. The indemnity commitment was €128 million and there was an additional commitment of €352 million. We have not succeeded in seeing those transfers being made. They will move to completion on the first €128 million but we are a long way from seeing the second commitment made after the Ryan report being met. It was only after the Ryan report that we realised the full scale of what was involved and the systematic and horrific nature of it. The fact is that some of the most vulnerable children were entrusted at a very vulnerable point in their lives to the care of these institutions. I agree with the Senator that there is a moral responsibility to honour the commitments which have been made and to move to respect the view of Government, which has been held by successive Administrations, that a 50:50 share out is correct.

As to the legal or moral mechanisms open to Government, Ruairí Quinn tried extremely hard to approach this but we have not moved forward having made that effort. Once again, I appeal to the institutions to honour the commitments they made. We have seen again this week other examples of cases where children were treated in an appalling way. We must approach this openly and try to resolve it while supporting those who have been very adversely affected. When it comes to the State, its liability will always be determined on the extent to which it was involved, regulated or oversaw an institution. That was the basis on which the 50:50 split was deemed a fair allocation in the case of residential institutions. In those cases, the State took the children away from their parents through the courts and otherwise and entrusted them to the care of the congregations. The State had a responsibility and, through the Department, oversaw the regulation of those institutions. As such, a share of responsibility fell on both sides. If we are to put this behind us, that share out must be respected.