PATSY McGARRY, Religious Affairs Correspondent
THE LABOUR Party has appealed to the Government not to oppose its private members Bill addressing the concerns of victims of abuse in religious-run institutions in the Dáil next week.
The Institutional Child Abuse Bill 2009 will be debated in private members time on Tuesday and Wednesday next.
Labour spokesman on education Ruairí Quinn said yesterday that the debate on the Bill “will be an important one for the Dáil and a significant test of the Government’s bona fides”. He also expressed disappointment that “no serious effort has been made by the Taoiseach or his Cabinet colleagues to address matters of concern to the victims of abuse”.
In introducing this private members Bill the Labour Party sought to address those concerns, he said.
The Bill proposes extending the provisions of the Redress Act to cover those who missed out on the December 15th, 2005, deadline for applications to the Redress Board.This, he said was “a particular issue for those who were resident in the UK”.
The Bill would also put “beyond doubt any perception that those abused may be regarded as having criminal records”.
It would remove “the confidentiality obligation imposed on those who appeared before the Redress Board which effectively prohibits them from recounting the stories of their childhood”, and make provision “to ensure that the records of the Redress Board and the Ryan Commission are not destroyed and are safely preserved for future reference”, he said.
The Bill also contains a number of measures intended “to establish the full story” of how the 2002 indemnity deal between the State and 18 religious orders concerned was negotiated and to ensure that the mistakes of 2002 are not repeated in any new round of negotiations with the orders.
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