Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 478: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if it is within the scope of the Commission on Child Abuse to consider court committal cases in which children were sent into institutional care; if not, the reason this element of the abuse was excluded from the scope of the investigation; the extent to which the commitment (details supplied) in 1999 to examine the origin and causes of abuse of this element has been excluded; and the legal grounds on which the court committal process was excluded from investigation. [45974/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse was established under statute:

To afford victims of abuse in childhood an opportunity to tell of the abuse they suffered to a sympathetic and experienced forum.

To establish as complete a picture as possible of the causes, nature and extent of the physical and sexual abuse of children in institutions and in other places during the period from 1940 to the present.

To compile a report and publish it to the general public, on the activities and the findings of the Commission, containing recommendations on actions to address the continuing effects of the abuse and actions to be taken to safeguard children from abuse in the future.

There were apparently three means by which children could be placed in institutions:—

(1) through the Courts,

(2) by the Health Boards or

(3) on a voluntary basis.

All former residents, regardless of the circumstances surrounding their placement in an institution, were entitled to apply to the Commission to either recount their experiences or to have their allegations investigated into. Court committal cases were not excluded from doing so.

The Commission is independent in the performance of its functions in accordance with the terms of the prescribed legislation. As Minister for Education & Science, I will not have access to the Committee's Report until such time as it is published to the general public. Consequently, it would not be appropriate for me to pre-empt its contents in terms of the issues investigated or reported on by the Commission at this time.