merrion street

Go ndéanfaidh an tAire Dlí, Comhionannas & Cosanta ráiteas maidir leis na

tuairiscí faoi ionsaithe gnéis ar ógánaithe a raibh baint acu le Cumann &

Coláiste na bhFiann agus an bhfuil sé i gceist aige fiosrúchán a reáchtáil

faoin gcás agus an chaoi ar láimhseáil An Gárda Síochána agus eagrais eile

stáit é.

That the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence make a statement on the

reports of sexual abuse of youths connected to Coláiste & Cumann na bhFiann

and if he intends to have an inquiry into the situation and the way it has

been handled by An Garda Síochána and other State organisations

Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh

I am speaking on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, who

regrets that he is unable to be present due to other business. On behalf

of the Minister I wish to thank the Senator for raising this important

matter.

The reports in recent days and weeks concerning allegations against the

person in question are of great concern, and echo in many ways those which

have come to light in other situations where persons have abused their

positions of authority and trust to harm children. We have learned from

those instances and transformed our child protection arrangements but this

is not to say that we can simply draw a line under the past. Where there

continue to be further lessons to be learned, we should endeavour to do so,

so as to give further assurance that our children can safely and happily

engage in educational, sport and recreational activities in the wider

community.

The Minister’s first concern is of course with victims of abuse and he

would encourage anyone in any situation who has been abused to come forward

to report their concerns, and to avail of the counselling which is

available from the HSE or indeed from one of the voluntary groups working

in this field. He would like to express his sincere sympathy with all

those who have come forward concerning the allegations in this particular

case and hopes that they will be able to benefit from the assistance which

is available. The HSE National Counselling Service can be accessed free of

charge in all regions of the Health Service Executive and is staffed by

highly qualified counsellors.

The Minister has received a preliminary report from the Garda authorities

concerning the criminal investigations which took place. As has been

widely reported, in 1997 a criminal investigation was instigated into

allegations of instances of sexual abuse committed against various children

and young persons and the person in question was arrested in connection

with the offences in February 1999. A file on the allegations made was

submitted to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, who

directed that the accused be prosecuted for numerous counts of sexual

offences. A prosecution was initiated in March 2000 when the accused was

arrested and charged before Mullingar District Court with 56 counts of

Buggery and Indecent Assault. The case was subsequently listed for trial

in Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court for February 2002.

The Minister is advised, however, that Judicial Review proceedings were

taken before the High Court by the accused for reasons related to delay in

the bringing of complaints, and understands that arising from these

proceedings, the prosecution fell. The Senator will appreciate that the

bringing of prosecutions and their management is a matter for the direction

of the DPP, who makes independent decisions having regard to the

circumstances of the case in question. The Minister has no role in this

process and, quite properly, is not in a position to explain decisions of

the Director.

More recently, arrangements had been made by the Gardaí with a further

injured party to take a statement but this had not taken place prior to the

person in question’s death. Gardaí are continuing to liaise with this

injured party. Concerns expressed by another person were also under

consideration at the time of the death.

The course which these investigations could have been expected to take is,

of course, no longer available. However, the Garda Commissioner has

informed the Minister that he has directed that a review be carried out of

the procedures surrounding the handling of the complaints against this

person, and subsequent investigations, to see if any lessons can be learned

in that context. The HSE is also to review any contact made with it and

the Minister further understands that the Department of Education and

Skills is reviewing its records to establish if child protection concerns

were raised with the Department concerning the person in question and if so

what steps were taken on foot of this contact.

We know only too well how, in the past, such arrangements as were in place

to protect children often, in fact, failed miserably. The Minister would

like to emphasise the fundamental changes which have taken place in recent

years to the way we approach the issue of child protection.

We now have revised Children First guidelines, which are to be put on a

statutory footing by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, and which

set out excellent standards and procedures involving vetting of staff,

reporting of allegations to the authorities and training to support this

process. These guidelines are complemented by the Criminal Justice

(Withholding of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable

Persons) Act 2012 and the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable

Persons) Act 2012, both introduced by Minister Shatter. Moreover, the

arrangements for inter-agency working at all levels have been strengthened,

supported by the ongoing reform of Children and Family Services in the HSE

and the work to establish a Child and Family Support Agency. An Garda

Síochána also has in place a new and comprehensive policy on the

investigation of sexual crime, crimes against children and child welfare.

It would be unrealistic to think that abuse will never occur but these new

arrangements mean that we can have far greater confidence in the systems in

place to prevent it, to make sure that it is effectively investigated where

it is discovered and , ultimately, that offenders are held to account and

the rights of victims vindicated.

On behalf of the Minister I would like to again thank the Senator for

raising this important issue and will certainly share the points he has

made with the relevant Ministers. Minister Shatter again expresses his

sympathy with all those who have been affected and we all regret greatly

the dreadful experiences they endured. It is the Minister’s view that it

is incumbent on any organisation which may have been used by a person to

facilitate their evil deeds to examine carefully how this may have occurred

and make sure that its procedures will not allow it to recur. For the

present, the Minister believes that the reviews which are underway should

be allowed to proceed and their results considered carefully, so that we

may see what lessons can be learned to further strengthen child protection

arrangements.