THE LABOUR Party has appealed to the Government not to oppose its private members Bill addressing the concerns of victims of abuse in religious-run institutions in the Dáil next week.
The Institutional Child Abuse Bill 2009 will be debated in private members time on Tuesday and Wednesday next.
Labour spokesman on education Ruairí Quinn said yesterday that the debate on the Bill “will be an important one for the Dáil and a significant test of the Government’s bona fides”. He also expressed disappointment that “no serious effort has been made by the Taoiseach or his Cabinet colleagues to address matters of concern to the victims of abuse”.
In introducing this private members Bill the Labour Party sought to address those concerns, he said.
The Bill proposes extending the provisions of the Redress Act to cover those who missed out on the December 15th, 2005, deadline for applications to the Redress Board.This, he said was “a particular issue for those who were resident in the UK”.
The Bill would also put “beyond doubt any perception that those abused may be regarded as having criminal records”.
It would remove “the confidentiality obligation imposed on those who appeared before the Redress Board which effectively prohibits them from recounting the stories of their childhood”, and make provision “to ensure that the records of the Redress Board and the Ryan Commission are not destroyed and are safely preserved for future reference”, he said.
The Bill also contains a number of measures intended “to establish the full story” of how the 2002 indemnity deal between the State and 18 religious orders concerned was negotiated and to ensure that the mistakes of 2002 are not repeated in any new round of negotiations with the orders.
In that context the Bill would provide for a waiver of any claim to privilege, including legal professional privilege, in respect of records consisting of or relating to that 2002 agreement. It also “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”, he said.
It requires that any future proposed agreement which seeks to amend or that is supplemental or ancillary to the original 2002 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. Moreover, the Bill will confer powers on the Government to appoint an auditor to examine the financial affairs of the 18 orders who entered into the deed of indemnity.
Mr Quinn said “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”.
He said that 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”.
He also noted that following publication there was a desire to see grievances addressed.
