A spokeswoman for religious congregations last night expressed concern that the decision of Ms Justice Laffoy to resign from the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse will mean further delay in its work.
Sister Helena O'Donoghue, a provincial with the Sisters of Mercy, rejected suggestions that the congregations had been less than co-operative with the commission. "We have tried to work with the commission to find a fair and just means to determine the case against our members and institutions."
Sister Helena said she hoped the commission would be ongoing, and said she "looked forward" to the publication of Ms Justice Laffoy's letter of resignation.
Speaking from Nairobi, where she is attending a meeting of all Mercy provinces, she said they had hoped the commission would be the instrument by which healing, closure, and reconciliation could have happened.
The work of the commission had become more complex than was expected by anybody, and was going to take time unless more resources and personnel were put into it.
"Very, very serious issues of fairness and justice for everybody" had arisen. It seemed sometimes "there was an assumption that not all the people involved were human beings" with the same rights.
She said the congregations were very interested in knowing the outcome of the first Government review of the commission and only become aware of the planned second review when it was announced by the Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey, on Monday.
As to what was to happen now, she said: "It is not for us to say, but it must be an independent body."
Brother Edmund Garvey, of the Irish Christian Brothers, said, contrary to reports, they had initiated just one court action arising from the commission, and that was currently before the High Court. They had been linked to court actions with another congregation and another by Ms Justice Laffoy herself, on legal representation at the commission.
In a statement last night the Christian Brothers said they had heard through the media on Tuesday about the Government's decision to engage in a second phase of a review of the commission. They were unaware the first phase had been completed.
They "learned with surprise and some concern" about the resignation of Ms Justice Laffoy, and acknowledged she had "an extremely complex and onerous task to which she brought the highest integrity of her office as chairperson of the commission".
