The opposition this evening accused the Government of making a "mockery" of accountability by putting their own spin on the "devastating condemnation" expressed by Judge Laffoy in last week's letter in which she tendered her resignation as chair of the inquiry into child abuse.
Tonight's response from the Government's "makes a mockery of any pretence of accountable or democratic Government" the leader of the Labour Party, Mr Pat Rabbitte said.
The statement "challenging the condemnation of Judge Laffoy does not disguise the catalogue of obstruction on the part of the Government which precipitated the judge's resignation," he said.
According to the Labour leader, the Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey's claim that useful work could continue to be done by the Investigative Committee was "an empty platitude".
"Investigations," he said "cannot continue when there is no certainty as to the statutory mandate of the Commission. Clearly, if the rules are going to be changed so that only a sample of cases are to be examined, then current inquiries not organised on a random sample basis will no longer be relevant."
The leader of Fine Gael, Mr Enda Kenny said the document t "directly contradicts the stated acceptance by the Taoiseach of the criticisms of Justice Laffoy yesterday".
"No litany of excuses can disguise the fact that Justice Laffoy decided to resign as a result of the Government's actions which rendered her Commission powerless," Mr Kenny said, adding that there was "no admission of guilt" or "no acceptance of responsibility" and "precious little contrition for the impact of the Government's actions on the victims of abuse."
In a statement released by Mr Dempsey to coincide with the Government response to Ms Justice Laffoy's resignation, he admitted the Government had not anticipated the scale and magnitude of the problem of investigating 1,700 complaints and said the review was an attempt to break the "log jam".
He said the Government's review of the Laffoy Commission was "a genuine attempt" to deal with a major problem confronting the Investigation Committee. To carry on for another 8 to 11 years is simply not an option," he insisted.
"While the Government was taken by surprise by Ms. Justice Laffoy's resignation we must now find a way forward. Our job is to find solutions for those for whom the Commission was established... The resignation of Ms Justice Laffoy is a loss but it does not mean the end of the Commission or our determination to ensure that the victims of abuse get closure in a timely manner," the Minister said.
The leader of the Green Party, Mr Trevor Sargent has called for the recall of the Dáil to mandate, without further delay, a streamlined redress process for the victims of child abuse
He said the Government's "incompetence in the Laffoy debacle" required the immediate recall of the Dáil to mandate a streamlined redress process for the victims of child abuse.
"The Government must face up to its incompetence and allow the Oireachtas to debate and mandate the next phase of the Laffoy Commission. The next phase should ensure that the Department of Education and Science is removed from managerial control of the Commission and brought under the control of the Taoiseach's Department."
