Tag: church

Archbishop ahead of debate on future of education

17th June 2009

Once again, today, the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin has taken what can only be described as a leadership role in the debate on the future of education, particularly of primary school education. He appears to be ahead of the debate in many cases, certainly ahead of many people who purport to speak on behalf of church interests in this vital area. The Archbishop has described the situation with regard to primary school education as a near monopoly of control by the Catholic church and has said that it does not reflect current realities. He has called for a debate, the kind of debate for which many Members have been calling for two years.

When Deputy Mary Hanafin was Minister for Education and Science, she declined in this House to set up a national forum to consider these questions. The subject was raised last week in the House. Has the Minister for Education and Science been persuaded to come to facilitate a debate on this crucial issue? The matter arose again in the context of the recent developments on the Ryan commission report. However, I have no difficulty in decoupling those two issues if that would make people feel more comfortable in debating the matter. The issue of the church’s control and management of primary schools throughout the State requires debate in its own right, with or without the Ryan commission report.

There have been some developments in this regard, for example, a development with regard to VEC involvement in primary schools in Dublin city. The issue arises again and again. Can we now have a full and comprehensive debate on the issue that takes note of the fact that the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin has said that the current position is a historical hangover and is, essentially, a monopoly. To his credit, he said the position is detrimental to the possibility of maintaining a true Catholic identity in Catholic schools. That is the Roman Catholic view on the issue.

When this question is debated in the Seanad, on radio programmes and elsewhere, people always say it is a question of choice. We are all in favour of the maximum amount of choice being afforded to citizens, parents and children, but resources must also be considered.

In any country or economy, scarce resources will dictate what level of choice we can provide or can vindicate for parents, whether religious, non-religious or multidenominational education.

Gov should seek extra cash from Orders to pay aggravated damages to abuse victims

2nd June 2009

Before the Taoiseach meets the Religious Congregations, who ran the residential institutions, he must devise a strategy based on what ought now to be achieved for the benefit of the great number of men and women that have been abused and exploited in the systematic way so convincingly described in the Ryan Report.

A starting point for the Taoiseach’s discussions with the Congregations should be a demand by him that as a first step they will pay to the Redress Board the equivalent of 20% of the awards that have been and are yet to be made so that each recipient of redress will be paid by the Redress Board an additional payment equivalent to 20% of his or her award.

Although the Redress Board is empowered to award up to €60,000 (being 20% of the maximum award of €300,000) for aggravated damages, the Board has rarely made any award for aggravated damages.

The scheme for Redress which was published by Mr Justice Ryan’s Compensation Advisory Committee in January 2002 clearly contemplated that aggravated damages not exceeding 20% of the Redress awarded might be awarded by the Redress Board where the applicant has satisfied the board, that it is appropriate to do so having regard to the circumstances of the abuse suffered by the applicant. This principle that aggravated damages should be available seems to have been given very limited application in practice.

No new deal should be concluded with the Religious Congregations until the Oireachtas Committee on Public Accounts has heard evidence from Michael Woods TD, the then Secretary General of the Department of Education and Science and the representatives of the Residential Institutions about the extent of disclosure made to the Government in 2002 by the Religious Orders about the nature, severity and extent of abuse and exploitation in their institutions over many years past.

This time the deal must be fair and fully reflect the appalling injuries that have been documented by the Ryan Report.

Ryan report reveals shocking saga of abuse, cruelty and neglect

20th May 2009

The Report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, published today, depicts a truly shocking and sordid saga of the systematic abuse and neglect of thousands of Irish children who were handed over by the state into the custody of religious orders over a period of more than three decades.

While we have heard the vivid accounts of individual victims and even accounts of abuse in particular institutions, the cumulative impact of the details given in the report is absolutely shocking.

In these five volumes we have the personal accounts of 1090 men and women who were subject to physical, emotional and sexual abuse, neglect and wanton cruelty in more than 216 schools and institutions. And we know that these are only a representative group of the many of thousands of children who were similarly abused.

It is very clear from this report that the State and the Religious Institutions share the blame for the terrible treatment meted out to these children. Indeed the report is particularly critical of the role of the Department of Education, suggesting in particular that what it describes as the ‘deferential and submissive attitude’ of the Department towards the Congregations ‘compromised its ability to carry out its statutory duty of inspection and monitoring of the schools’.

In the light of these findings it is a matter of particular concern that it was the same Department that negotiated the irresponsible and profligate indemnity deal with the Religious Institutions in 2002. The original recommendation from the Department of Finance was that financial liability for compensation for the damage done to these children should be shared 50:50 between the state and the Religious Congregations. However, the deal negotiated by the Department and then Minister for Education, Dr.Michael Woods limited the Congregations liability to €127m, which we know now represents only around 10% of the total cost.

This is a matter that the Labour Party will be returning to, but today is a day for the victims and for a collective acknowledgement by Irish society of the terrible damage done to these children.

We all owe Judge Sean Ryan - and Judge Mary Laffoy before him- a debt of gratitude for the enormous the huge task of work they took on. I hope that the government will accept and urgently act on the recommendations made in the report.

More :: Click here to read the report’s Executive Summary (PDF)