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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 6 Jun 1996

Vol. 466 No. 5

Written Answers. - Madonna House Report.

Mary Coughlan

Ceist:

7 Miss Coughlan asked the Minister for Health the reason for the 14 month delay in obtaining legal advice in respect of the Madonna House report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10000/96]

A copy of the report prepared by the inquiry team appointed to review the operation of Madonna House was furnished to my Department by the Sisters of Charity in March 1995. Following a preliminary examination of the report, it was then referred to the Office of the Attorney General for advice as to whether it could be published. That office advised 28 March 1995 that it could not be published in full because of the need to protect certain parties and to avoid interference with ongoing investigations and legal proceedings.

However, both the Minister for Health and I were most anxious that as much as possible of the report should be published. The Attorney General accordingly, arranged for a barrister to be engaged to examine the report of the inquiry team to determine what could be published without undue risk of legal complications. The legal advice received was that substantial parts of the report could not be published without running a serious risk of committing grave contempt and defamation. In this context, I would remind the Deputy that a number of civil actions has been initiated against the Sisters of Charity and the Eastern Health Board by or on behalf of former residents of the home. These actions claim damages against the defendants for assault, negligence and breach of duty. The legal advice indicated that it would be improper and unlawful to publish any material which prejudices issues arising for determination by the courts in the pending proceedings.
In the light of this advice, there were two options open to me — not to publish the report or to publish an abridged version. Bearing in mind the unequivocal position of the Minister for Health — and mine — that as much as possible of the report should be put into the public domain, I asked my officials to arrange for the publication of as much of the report as was legally possible to publish. Arrangements for this were in train when a further complication arose. This concerned a new allegation of abuse of a child at Madonna House. My Department was informed of this allegation by the Eastern Health Board at the end of February. The allegation is currently being investigated by the Garda Síochána, in co-operation with the board. In view of this development, it was necessary for my Department to seek further legal advice as to whether the proposed publication of the abridged report would in any way interfere with the Garda investigation, which is still ongoing. I am sure the Deputy will agree that it was prudent to ensure that nothing would be done which might possibly prejudice a criminal prosecution arising from this investigation.
Having received clearance to proceed with publication, my Department arranged for the printing of the report on the inquiry into Madonna House. This process was completed on Tuesday, 7 May and I released the report on Thursday, 9 May.
I hope the Deputy will accept from the foregoing that there was no undue delay on my part in making available as much of the report prepared by the inquiry team as was legally possible for me to do so. This was done as expeditiously as possible, having regard to the legal complications involved which of necessity required detailed consideration and numerous consultations with legal advisers. I am also satisfied that the child care policy unit of my Department dealt with the matter as quickly as possible, bearing in mind the heavy volume of work within the unit.
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