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Dail to debate Labour Bill to address concerns of abuse victims

Issued : Friday 3 July, 2009

The Labour Party Spokesperson on Education, Ruairi Quinn TD, has appealed to the government not to oppose a Labour Party Private Members Bill designed to deal with a number of issues of concern to victims of abuse in religious institutions which will be debated in the Dail next week.

The Labour Party Bill, the Institutional Child Abuse Bill, 2009, will be debated in Private Members Time between 7.00pm and 8.30pm on Tuesday and Wednesday next (July 7th/8th).

“The publication of the Ryan Report shocked Irish society to its core and created a new understanding of the legacy of pain and suffering still being endured by those who suffered such violence and abuse in so many of these institutions.

“Following the publication of the report there was a groundswell of public goodwill towards those who had been abused and a genuine desire to see outstanding grievances addressed.

“I am disappointed that despite some half-hearted attempts by the government to re-open negotiations with the Religious Congregations with a view to increasing the totally inadequate financial settlement agreed with them by the then Minister for Education, Dr. Michael Woods, in 2002 no serious effort has been made by the Taoiseach or his cabinet colleagues to address matters of concern to the victims of abuse.

“Among the issues of concern that have been raised with Labour Party Deputies and which we seek to address in this Bill include:
•Extending the provisions of the Redress Act to cover those who missed out on the deadline for applications to the Redress Board (this is a particular issue for those who were resident in the UK); because they were abused in an institution that was not listed in the schedule to the Redress Act, or because although they were underage under the law as it stood at the time they were in institutions, they would not be considered to be underage in modern law;

•Putting beyond doubt any perception that those abused may be regarded as having criminal records by declaring that those persons must be treated for all purposes in law as persons who have not committed or been charged with or prosecuted for or convicted of or sentenced for any offence;

•Removing the confidentiality obligation imposed on those who appeared before the Redress Board which effectively prohibits them from recounting the stories of their childhood;

•Making provision to ensure that the records of the Redress Board and the Ryan Commission are not destroyed and are safely preserved for future reference.

“The Bill also contains a number of measures to establish full story of how the 2002 Indemnity Deal was negotiated and to ensure that the mistakes of 2002 are not repeated in any new round of negotiations with the Religious Congregations.

“First, the Bill provides for a waiver of any claim to privilege, including legal professional privilege, in respect of records consisting of or relating to the 2002 agreement. The Bill dis-applies the privileges belonging to the Attorney General under the Freedom of Information Act 1997 in relation to records held by him. Those records will therefore become publicly available and open to public and media scrutiny.

“Second, the Bill requires that any future proposed agreement that seeks to amend or that is supplemental or ancillary to the original Deed of Indemnity, whether with any or all of those congregations cannot be made unless a draft of the agreement is first laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas and then approved by resolution of both Houses.

“Third, the Bill confers power on the Government to appoint an auditor to examine the financial affairs of the 18 Roman Catholic religious congregations who entered into the deed of indemnity. The Labour Party believes it is essential that we have independently verifiable information on the extent of the assets and resources of the Religious Congregations before a decision is made on the appropriate additional financial contribution that they must make to help survivors cope with the consequences of the appalling abuse inflicted on them in the Institutions concerned.

“The debate on our Bill next week will be an important one for the Dail and a significant test of the government bone-fides. Following the publication of the Ryan Report we heard many expressions of regret from the government and commitments to address the concerns of survivors. This Bill offers the government an opportunity to live up to those commitments. The least they can do is not oppose this Bill at second stage. This would then allow the Bill to proceed to Committee Stage where it can be considered in detail and where the Labour Party will be willing to consider any reasonable amendments that would improve it.”