I commend my Labour Party colleagues on introducing this Bill to the House. One gets the distinct impression that the Government would rather that the whole matter of institutional child abuse simply went away. While there has been little comment by the Government since the publication of the Ryan report, at a more discreet level there has been a vigorous initiative to fight survivors of abuse in the courts who may have missed the compensation application deadline. At least the Government is consistent in one area, namely, its willingness to use the resources of the State to fight victims, regardless of whether they are challenging the time limit regarding the redress board, challenging the Government's refusal to acknowledge responsibility for the victims of abuse in primary schools or fighting for their child's right to a proper education.
The Government has made it clear repeatedly that it is on the side of institutions rather than the side of the victims. The banks only had to extend a greedy hand when the Government began raining down taxpayers' money on them. The Catholic church only had to send in a couple of nuns before an enormous indemnity deal was agreed with few questions asked and against the better judgment of all experts. However, when ordinary citizens attempt to vindicate their rights, the State turns on them in a vicious manner. Where was the generosity of spirit shown to banks and religious bodies when it came to those who were abused in primary schools? Such victims remain excluded from the redress scheme and have been cast adrift. However, the Ryan report confirms these victims also suffered harrowing abuse at the hands of paedophiles and sadists.
The Ryan report describes in horrifying detail the reign of terror perpetrated by Donal Dunne in schools in several counties but in particular in my constituency of Laois-Offaly. However, his victims still are ignored by the State, which it now is known let them down badly by ignoring complaints about Dunne and by tampering with his file. Were it not for the Ryan commission, the full truth about this depraved paedophile would never have been known. However, officials in the Department of Education and Science engaged in a cover up by removing vital evidence from the file that reappeared suddenly after decades, when the Ryan commission investigated the matter. I call on the Government to change its policy on the victims of abuse in primary schools. While it may continue to avoid responsibility based on strict legal criteria, there is a moral and factual responsibility that must be accepted. For example, Members should consider the case of Louise O'Keeffe. I understand the Government intends to fight vigorously her cause of action at European level.
While I do not have time to speak in detail about the Louise O'Keeffe case, I wish to speak about another woman, namely, Nora Wall. Nora Wall has hardly been mentioned in the debate on the Ryan report. She became something of a heroine for those who mistrust the Irish courts when her conviction for rape was overturned in 1999. Since her conviction was overturned, she has been portrayed as an heroic martyr in many quarters with references to witch hunts and witch trials abounding. Six weeks ago, the columnist Kevin Myers wrote in a national newspaper:
The liberal-left lynch mob that went after poor Nora Wall a decade ago was prepared to destroy her life on the basis of lies.
Mr. Myers would do well to read the description of "poor Nora Wall" in the Ryan report. Nora Wall does not deserve the plaudits that have been directed her way since her conviction for rape was overturned. While her case may have collapsed, the Ryan report reveals graphically that Nora Wall was no saint. She exposed the children in her care to unacceptable risks by allowing male outsiders to stay overnight at the Cappoquin care centre which was in her charge. She entertained past pupils and student priests in the home and allowed them to stay overnight. A witness stated that much drinking took place at these gatherings.
There is more to this than meets the eye in respect of these social events. It has been suggested that there were frequent visits to the Cappoquin home by some clergy from Mount Melleray Abbey. Access to children may have been a key motivation for these visits. One must bear in mind that Mount Melleray was selected by the notorious paedophile, Fr. Brendan Smith, as a holiday destination or as a haven to which to escape when he was on the run from the authorities in Northern Ireland. This issue must be revisited.
There were reports that younger children in Cappoquin were abused by older children. Nora Wall allowed children to sleep in her bedroom and often shared her room with the convent superior, who was given the pseudonym of Sr. Serena in the report. The two nuns went away together, taking children with them. The report notes she went absent for days without notice, leaving a young woman in charge of up to 16 young children. It describes Nora Wall's management of children in her care as "alarming" and "disastrous" and her behaviour there is described as "inappropriate and dangerous".
One particularly worrying aspect of the report refers to an incident where a resident of the home with an intellectual disability was sexually assaulted by a colleague in a hotel where he did part-time work. The report states that when the parents of the boy discovered the abuse, they went to the Garda and confronted the abuser, who admitted it. The boy later told his house parent that he did not want to pursue the matter. She later noticed he had a new radio and he told her that Nora Wall had given him a new radio and a new bicycle. This is quite a sinister revelation, which needs to be probed further. Issues arise in respect of the charging and subsequent acquittal of Nora Wall that should be revisited by way of investigation. It is a matter of some concern that reports of interference with witnesses and attempts to buy their silence have been made. This aspect must be investigated fully because any secret payments made by religious institutions must be fully probed and examined. It is essential that the manner in which victims and their families are dealt with is above reproach at all times.
In this context, I am concerned about the somewhat secretive nature of the Education Finance Board. The membership of this board, the budget of which is €12.7 million, is made up of former residents of residential institutions and people who broadly are from the education sector. As this is not my area of expertise I may be mistaken but to the best of my knowledge, there are no legal or financial experts on the board, which I believe to be a mistake. The board administers a large budget and concerns have been brought to my attention in respect of what some consider to be an ad hoc approach to awarding moneys. It is essential for the Education Finance Board to appear before the Committee of Public Accounts and have its activities subject to questioning.
When I spoke on the Ryan report earlier this year, I highlighted the distressing revelations in respect of how Department of Education and Science officials handled complaints regarding Mr. Donal Dunne. Attempts to highlight the danger this man posed to children were ignored and the file was interfered with at some point, with complaints being removed. The pattern is repeated in respect of Nora Wall. My colleague, Deputy Phil Hogan, highlighted in this House in April 2002 the alleged involvement of a senior departmental official in a Dublin-based child sex ring at a time he was supposed to have been investigating child abuse. That individual had investigated the home run by Nora Wall and gave it a clean bill of health at a time when there were serious problems at the home, as identified by the Ryan report.
However, the Department of Education and Science was not alone in its disgraceful behaviour. When Nora Wall was removed from her position in Cappoquin in the 1990s, a health board official gave her a glowing reference. This is exactly what happened to John Brander, otherwise known as Donal Dunne, as identified by me in this House approximately ten years ago. The health board official offered Nora Wall the job, which involved caring for a young man, despite having been informed of her earlier dismissal. Following her dismissal, the manager who replaced her found she had a close friendship with a senior social worker and the pair blocked his efforts to make changes.
I regret I do not have more time to probe these matters further but I will return to them in the autumn. It is evident from the behaviour of officials at the Departments of Education Science and Health and Children that Ireland has an endemic problem in respect of the craven deference shown to institutions and those who personify them. This deference is matched by a distrust shown to the ordinary citizen. The attitude of civil servants to victims and abusers still is reflected in the current behaviour of Ministers. The institutions must no longer be protected while the victim is trampled on. This attitude must change fundamentally.
