Go dtabharfaidh an tAire Dlí, Comhionannas & Cosanta soiléiriú maidir leis
na fiosrúcháin atá iarrtha ón nGarda Síochána, Feidhmeannacht na Seirbhísí
Sláinte agus an Roinn Oideachais & Scileanna faoi na líomhaintí ionsaithe
gnéis atá déanta maidir le h-iar-cheannasaí ar Choláiste Samhraidh, cé na
téarmaí tagartha atá aontaithe, cén amscála atá beartaithe chuige agus cén
uair atá súil go bhfoilseofar na tuairiscí go poiblí?.
That the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence clarify in relation to
internal investigations that have been requested from An Garda Síochána,
the HSE and the Department of Education and Skills in relation to
allegations of sexual abuse made against a former head of a Summer College,
what terms of reference have been agreed, what timescale has been laid down
and when he expects the reports to be published publicly.
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 again raising this
important matter.
As the Minister has previously made clear, the allegations regarding the
person in question are very disturbing. He would again 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 from one
of the voluntary groups working in this field.
The preliminary report which the Minister received from the Garda
authorities set out how , in 1997, a criminal investigation was instigated
into allegations of sexual abuse, which led to the person in question being
charged with numerous counts of sexual offences As the Minister outlined
at the time of the Senator’s earlier inquiry, he is advised that Judicial
Review proceedings were taken by the accused for reasons related to delay
in the bringing of complaints, and 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. Concerns expressed in connection with the
suggestion that the person in question was seeking to visit schools to
promote a book were also under consideration at the time of the death.
The examination which the Garda Commissioner has directed be carried out
concerning the procedures surrounding the handling of the complaints
against this person is at an advanced stage and a report will be submitted
to the Commissioner in the near future. Insofar the terms of reference of
this examination are concerned, these would be a matter for the
Commissioner but he has already indicated that the focus will be on whether
any lessons can be learned from the handling or the above complaints and
subsequent investigations. As this is an internal Garda examination it
would not be the normal practice for such reports to be published.
However, the Minister will examine in due course how any key findings might
be put into the public domain and will engage with his Ministerial
colleagues on the outcome of the examination.
The Senator will appreciate that the other inquiries being carried out into
this matter are not taking place under the auspices of the Minister for
Justice and Equality so he is not in a position to comment on them.
However, it is envisaged that on their completion there will be
co-ordination between the various Departments involved to see what lessons
might be learned.
The dreadful accounts of abuse in this case, and the testimonies of those
who have gone public with their experiences in recent months, bear out the
lessons we have learned from other inquiries and investigations in recent
years. It is imperative that we have in place the strongest possible child
protection measures. The Minister would like to emphasise that since
taking up office this Government has transformed child protection
arrangements in Ireland and is pushing forward with further major
improvements.
We now have revised Children First guidance, which is to be put on a
statutory footing by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, and which
sets out excellent standards and procedures involving reporting of
allegations to the authorities and training to support this process. These
standards 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.
Insofar as the particular sector in question in this case is concerned, the
Minister is assured by his colleague the Minister for Arts, Heritage and
the Gaeltacht that there are clear and robust child protection procedures
in place in Irish summer colleges and in households accommodating students.
This involves, inter alia, each college authority being required to develop
and implement a written policy to prevent any form of child-abuse, bullying
or anti-social behaviour during courses. In addition, the Department of
Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, in cooperation with CONCOS (the umbrella
organisation for the colleges) assists with the training and coaching of
college employees with regard to the implementation of Children First
guidance, both inside and outside the classroom, and in the households
where the students are accommodated. All households providing accommodation
for students in the Gaeltacht and all employees of Irish summer colleges
are checked with the Garda Vetting Unit.
This transformation of child protection arrangements has been motivated by
the very disturbing lessons we have learned from the past. If there are
further lessons to be learned from this case, or indeed from others, the
Minister is determined that this will be done. For this reason he believes
that the Garda review should be allowed to proceed and its results
considered carefully. He will also engage with his Ministerial colleagues
on any lessons they feel can be learned insofar as their respective
organisations are concerned.
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.