Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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Question 437: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the situation regarding the additional compensation from religious orders; when this money will be received; the amount of money this will be for individual victims; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40490/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Following publication of the Ryan Report, this House passed a unanimous motion on 28th May, 2009 calling on the congregations to commit to making further substantial contributions by way of reparation, in the context of discussions with the State, including to a Trust to be set up and managed by the State for the support of victims and to other education and welfare purposes.

The Taoiseach and relevant Ministers, including myself, met representatives of the religious congregations on 4th and 24th June last. At the meeting on 4th June, the Taoiseach conveyed the views of the Government and this House, that further substantial contributions are required by way of reparation and that these contributions need to be capable of being assessed by the public for their significance by reference to the full resources available to the congregations and in the context of the costs of well over a billion euro incurred by the State. At the meeting and subsequently in a press release, the congregations indicated their willingness to make further contributions.

At the subsequent meeting on 24th June, the congregations reported on the progress they had made in compiling reports on their financial positions. The Taoiseach indicated that the Government would appoint a panel of three independent persons to assess the material submitted by the congregations and report to Government as to the adequacy of these statements as a basis for assessing the resources of the congregations.

The appointment of the three person panel by the Government to examine these statements was announced on 28th July. In this announcement, the Government indicated that while the Panel is carrying out its work, it expected that the congregations would be working to produce an offer of a substantial contribution by way of reparation for the suffering of children in residential institutions. The statement was circulated to the leaders of all the congregations and their attention was specifically drawn to this aspect of it.

The Panel has submitted its Report which is under examination prior to being submitted to the Government. It is intended that the conclusions of the Panel will be made public.

The Taoiseach wrote to the congregations in September requesting that the offer be forwarded to me as soon as possible and the Secretary General of my Department wrote to the congregations on 22nd October. While some responses have been received, the position is that a full set of responses from all the congregations is awaited.

On the question of the uses to which the contribution will be put, the House has noted that both in the meetings with former residents and the congregations, support was expressed for the proposal that the use of a further substantial contribution from the congregations should include a form of independent trust to be set up by the State which would be available to support the needs of survivors for general education and welfare purposes. The Government will consider the matter, in consultation with the representatives of the survivors and the congregations, in the light of the offer from the congregations and the report of the Panel on the adequacy of the financial statements provided by the congregations as a basis for assessing the resources of the congregations.