Madam, - A letter by Tom Hayes (August 20th) attributes inaccuracies in a report by Patsy McGarry to myself. However the records which I attach show your reporter is quite accurate in his report of July 23rd.
Furthermore, Mr McGarry is to be commended for highlighting the contradictions in Mr Hayes's evidence to the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse. On the one hand Mr Hayes claimed that religious were not responsible for sexual abuse in institutions and on the other hand he acknowledges the fact of "religious found guilty in the courts".
In Mr Hayes's letter to you he says that "the Alliance Victim Support Group did not discuss any details of child abuse with the Irish Catholic or at any meetings in the National Office for Victims of Abuse". I attach a copy of the report from the Irish Catholic quoting Mr Hayes's remarks.
Mr Hayes also states that Alliance was not removed from the National Office for Victims of Abuse (NOVA). Again this is erroneous.
On April 29th the manager of Nova informed Mr Hayes in writing that "it was decided unanimously by the groups present that the Alliance be suspended from the Nova Management Committee and also from the Committee for the Education Fund".
Mr Hayes says in his letter that Alliance was not asked to produce any documents relating to child abuse. In fact, at a meeting in NOVA on February 9th, Mr Hayes agreed to produce information in relation to a number of issues. After he failed to attend three NOVA committee meetings in March, letters were sent asking him to submit the information by April 2nd.
Mr Hayes failed to produce the evidence and when he failed to attend the April 27th meeting, NOVA sent him a letter on April 29th informing him of the Alliance's suspension. A copy of the latter is attached.
I trust that this clarifies the anomalies. - Yours, etc.,
CHRISTINE BUCKLEY, Aislinn Centre for Victims of Institutional Abuse, Ormond House, Ormond Quay, Dublin 7.