Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 13 Nov 2002

Vol. 557 No. 2

Written Answers. - Tribunals of Inquiry.

Róisín Shortall

Question:

225 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Education and Science the total amount spent on the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse to date; the number and grades of all staff employed; the number of hearings held to date; the costs associated with the commission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21859/02]

Minister for Education and Science (Mr. N. Dempsey)

The commission was set up on a statutory basis on 23 May 2000. Its record of the total amount spent to date is as follows:

1999	€327,689.23
2000	€919,749.81
2001	€1,735,000.63
2002	€2,484,440.88

The likely outturn for 2002 will be about €4 million. The above figures do not take into account the cost of providing accommodation to the commission, which is accounted for separately under the Vote of the Office of Public Works.

The number of and rank of staff is set out in the following table. In addition to the staff members there is a chairperson and seven commissioners, three of whom are part-time. The commission is supported by a legal team comprising three senior counsel and three junior counsel.

The commission is an independent body and is obliged by statute to report on the performance of its mandate to the public. The mechanism used to do this is a periodic interim report which is published and posted on the commission's website at www.childabusecommission.ie. The interim report contains full particulars in aggregate form of the progress of the work of the commission in all its complexities.

Seconded Civil Servants

1	Acting Principal Officer
5	Junior Counsel – Inquiry Officers
2	Assistant Principal
3	Higher Executive Officers
4	Executive Officers
1	Acting Staff Officer
1	Clerical Officer

Contract Staff

1	Administrative Assistant
1	Administrative Assistant (part-time)
1	Clerical Officer
6	Clerical Support
1	Clerical Support (part-time)
1	Investigator
28	Total Number of Staff