THE 18 religious congregations whose management of residential institutions for children gave rise to the Ryan report have agreed to present detailed reports on their financial position to Government by the middle of next month. The agreement was reached at a meeting with Taoiseach Brian Cowen and Cabinet Ministers in Government Buildings yesterday.
The reports, which must be signed off by each congregation’s financial adviser, will then be assessed “by a panel of three eminent independent persons”, according to a Government statement issued after the meeting.
The panel will “assess the material submitted by the congregations and report to Government as to the adequacy of these statements as a basis for assessing the resources of the congregations”.
There will then be further contact with the congregations to discuss the extent of their contributions to a trust proposed by the Taoiseach so that further financial and other supports can be provided to people who were in the institutions as children.
Representatives of all 18 religious congregations attended the meeting yesterday along with Mr Cowen, Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe, Minister for Health Mary Harney, Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern, and Minister of State at the Department of Children Barry Andrews.
It is understood that some of the larger congregations had hoped to be given until September to prepare their financial reports.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Fr Joe O’Reilly, Irish provincial of the Rosminian congregation, said the three-person panel which would assess financial reports submitted by the congregations would be of the Government’s choosing and “be recognised by the public as independent”.
Speaking on behalf of all 18 congregations, he said it was expected that all would make full disclosure of their financial position, including assets abroad.
At a meeting with the Taoiseach and the same Ministers on June 5th, representatives of the 18 congregations agreed to an independent audit of their assets. They also agreed to contribute to the trust proposed by the Taoiseach and committed themselves to identifying resources, “both financial and other, within a transparent process with a view to delivering upon commitments”.
After the meeting Christine Buckley of the Aislinn Centre told Fr O’Reilly that in her view the Christian Brothers, the Sisters of Mercy and the Sisters of Charity, who she said had been responsible for “the most barbaric acts” in residential institutions, were hiding behind him as spokesman for the congregations. It was her “huge concern” and “hope that the Government has copped on to the behaviour of most of the 18 congregations, not all”.
When Fr O’Reilly came out of the meeting he was also confronted by Robert Dempsey, who spent time at St Joseph’s industrial school, near Clonmel, Co Tipperary, in the 1970s. It was run by the Rosminians. Fr O’Reilly said he had met Mr Dempsey before and hoped to help him “in whatever way we can”.
