Labour leader Ivana Bacik has raised concerns about child safeguarding after she told the Dáil that a person against whom serious allegations of abuse have been made is living in Willow Park Lodge on the grounds of Blackrock College.
Ms Bacik made the claim in the Dáil on Wednesday as the issue of abuse at Spiritan-run schools was raised again amid repeated calls for a public inquiry.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin told her that if information had come into the public domain it should be brought to An Garda Siochána “immediately”.
Earlier he told Social Democrats joint leader Catherine Murphy that the Government is considering the most effective way to deal with the allegations at schools run by the former Holy Ghost Fathers.
Catholic Church child protection board received 252 abuse allegations
German Protestant churches riddled with sexual abuse and cover-ups, report finds
Trust that owns Christian Brothers schools included as defendant in historical child sex abuse cases
Up to €20 million in funds for school sex abuse victims unspent amid ‘restrictive’ terms
But he warned that they had to consider the impact of a public inquiry on “cases that are live and current”.
Ms Bacik, who said “I have been supplied with the name of that person” living in Willow Park Lodge, warned that there were “current issues around child protection concerns”.
She added that “We do still need to consider that public inquiry and in particular, to see what the State could have done to prevent this and we also need to look at current concerns.”
Mr Martin said “If information has come, obviously that should be referred to the gardaí, and immediately. That is an issue that we must allow the gardaí to pursue cases because people should be held accountable before the justice system.
“And there can be no hiding place for anybody in that respect. That will be an issue that we have to assess in terms of what potentially would be the impact of an inquiry on cases that are live and current” and being proceeded with.
The Dáil, which has privilege, will next week debate the issue of abuse at Spiritan-run and other schools, following the RTÉ documentary about two brothers abused at the college, which prompted a surge in reports of other cases of abuse at the college and other schools.
Mr Martin said they would give consideration to the “most effective way to have a victim-led approach to unearthing what went on here”.
It would have to establish “if there was a cover-up, the nature of that cover-up, but more importantly, to get a proper understanding of the scale of what went on here.”
The Taoiseach was “very conscious steps into past inquiry some took longer than perhaps people would have anticipated” while some were more effective and “gave outcomes more quickly”.
“The manner in which we go about this as is important. And we do have to learn lessons from previous inquiries.”
He added that the terms of reference were very important, and he wanted to do this in consultation with the Opposition.
Ms Murphy said “a culture of omerta and a desire to protect the institution over the children in their care ensured that this dark chapter in the school’s history remained shrouded in secrecy until now”.
The Kildare North TD said they would “need to examine the detail” of the announcement by the Spiritans that independent experts have been appointed to examine abuse at their schools.
But she said “this independent process covers just one congregation. The State has an obligation, belatedly.
“We must have a public inquiry into what went on in the schools. We must know how many children were abused and by how many abusers and why it was covered up for so long.
“There have been allegations of paedophile rings operating and that must be examined also.”
Ms Murphy said it was way past time “that we in this country finally dealt with our past in which children were repeatedly raped and abused by those who had a duty to protect them”.
