Seanad Adjournment Debate17 April 2013
Speech by John Perry TD, Minister of State on behalf of Alan Shatter TD,
Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence
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.