The commission investigating child abuse at State-run residential institutions will no longer have to carry out full hearings on every allegation of abuse, under legislation introduced in the Dáil yesterday.
Minister for Education Mary Hanafin said witnesses would be called to give evidence of the abuse they suffered, to the extent that the investigation committee deemed necessary. However, people who are not called to give evidence can opt to go to the commission's confidential committee.
Ms Hanafin also informed the House that to date some €229 million has been paid out by the Redress Board to more than 3,000 victims with an average award of €78,000. More than 5,900 applications have been made to the Redress Board. The Minister also said that the commission intends to make its report before its May 2008 deadline.
Opposition TDs welcomed the Bill but sharply criticised the delay in its introduction, six years after the Taoiseach apologised on behalf of the State to victims and 18 months after the resignation of Ms Justice Mary Laffoy as first chairwoman of the commission.
Under the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (Amendment) Bill, a finance board will also be established to administer a €12.7 million education grant scheme for former institution residents.
Provisions also include that the commission will only name individual abusers who have a criminal conviction for child abuse or those who have admitted to or pleaded guilty to charges of child abuse.
"The primary purpose of the commission inquiry is to determine the causes, nature, circumstances and extent of child abuse," Ms Hanafin added.
Other changes are also included in the legislation to make the investigation process "more effective, less time-consuming and less costly".
Fine Gael's education spokeswoman Olwyn Enright said that "while justice should be delivered in the most timely and effective manner, the priority must be that it is delivered". She pointed to the "conflict of interest in the Department of Education sponsoring an inquiry when the department is part of what is being investigated. That is a mistake and it is a pity that the opportunity to rectify it in this legislation was not taken."
Ms Enright also expressed concern at the "sweeping change" in the Bill that would provide victims with an opportunity to recount the abuse and other relevant experiences "as far as is reasonably practicable". She said there was "a great degree of concern among the victims that they will not get the opportunity to have their story told".
Labour's education spokeswoman Jan O'Sullivan said the fact that the Bill was only now being debated "is an abysmal indication of the record of the Government in dealing with the issue". It had taken until now to get some answers, she said. Ms O'Sullivan also expressed "serious reservations about the fact that not all survivors will be able to tell their full stories if they want to".
