Vol. 560 No. 5
5 Mr. Costello asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform when he expects to announce details of the form of inquiry to be held into allegations of serious sexual abuse within the Dublin archdiocese; if the inquiry will be limited to Dublin or if it will cover other areas in the country; his proposals for the establishment of an alternative to tribunals of inquiry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3043/03]
As I have previously informed the House, a special investigation team consisting of a chief superintendent and additional gardaí has been assigned as part of the domestic violence and sexual assault unit to conduct an analytical overview of sexual abuse allegations. This involves reviewing specific cases with a view to seeing whether further lines of inquiry might be available that could lead to preferring criminal charges, pursuing additional evidence and investigating fresh complaints that have come to notice on the dedicated telephone number that has been set up for victims at Harcourt Square.
The Deputy will be aware that I announced on 3 December last that I would bring forward legislation to provide for a new statutory mechanism for investigations into matters of significant and urgent public importance. While this legislation will have general application, it will provide a mechanism for investigating the allegations of clerical sexual abuse. Work on the preparation of the legislation is under way and I hope to be able to bring detailed proposals to Government within the next few weeks with a view to having the legislation drafted and published as a matter of priority.
I have consulted widely on the matter. The proposed legislation will be informed, in the first instance, by public concern over the handling by the Dublin archdiocese of allegations of clerical sexual abuse and by the meetings and useful discussions I have had with victims' organisations, representatives of the Catholic hierarchy, the Conference of Religious in Ireland, and other affected parties.
The new procedure could provide a means of examining the systems, practices and structures in place within the Catholic Church for the handling of allegations and complaints as well as the response to such complaints. To do this, it may be sufficient for an investigation to focus on a certain area or region rather than have it covering the State. However, no decisions have yet been made on these issues. The new procedure, if applied to cases of clerical sex abuse, will not replace or interfere with the ordinary processes of the criminal law for the investigation and prosecution of offences. However, no decisions have yet been taken on these issues. The new procedure, if applied to cases of clerical sexual abuse, will not replace or interfere with the ordinary processes of the criminal law for the investigation and prosecution of offences.
I welcome the Minister's proposals, which he should bring to the House so that we can debate them. He says he has consulted widely with some of the organisations representing the victims and with the Catholic Church. Getting information out of the Catholic Church is like getting information from the Minister, it is like pulling teeth.
I do not know whether I am flattered by the comparison.
I was touched by the Minister's logical deduction that the fewer gardaí we have on the streets, the less crime there is.
I did not say that.
This week we received the disturbing information that 15 years ago the bishops took out insurance with Church and General in relation to child sexual abuse in the dioceses and archdioceses, but they have acted in public as though they knew nothing of what was going on at that time. Will the Minister not agree that dealing with this matter is particularly urgent considering that arising out of the settlement in the Mervyn Rundle case, it became obvious there were huge areas of neglect, obstruction and non-co-operation from the highest levels of the church.
Bearing in mind the sweetheart deal done by the Department of Education and Science on behalf of the Government with the religious orders, which seems to have the blessing of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, and that the State will be exposed to vast sums in indemnification claims, we must deal with this matter most urgently. From the Minister's answer I am not sure there was that sense of urgency in setting up this investigation process and bringing it into a legislative framework. It should have been possible for the Minister to work in the context of the High Court inspectors set up under the Companies Act. He should have been able to make a quick modification to that legislation so that we do not have to wait for an indefinite period when these proposals, with which I agree, would commence.
When I last took questions in the House, I indicated I would take my time to bring forward proposals to deal with non-tribunal forms of inquiry on a general basis and not simply establish a specific vehicle for inquiring into the matters about which the Deputy has spoken. When considering general matters of this kind, it takes somewhat longer. However, I assure the Deputy that the heads of the Bill have been prepared in my Department. They have been prepared to a very high quality and have been sent for consultation to other Departments. Within the next couple of weeks, I hope to bring them before the Government for approval. They will then be put in the hands of the parliamentary counsel so that I can, as soon as possible, publish the legislation. It will not be confined to the issue about which the Deputy has spoken, but will introduce a new form of non-tribunal type inquiry that will be open to the State to use in circumstances where tribunals will be inappropriate, excessively expensive or likely to bring matters into the public domain which might be better investigated other than by the public adversarial trial process, which sometimes seems to characterise tribunals.
