Parents of children abused by Derry O'Rourke are convinced that the inquiry proposed by the Minister for Sport will inevitably fail to establish the full facts of what happened and why it was able to happen.
The outcome of such an inquiry would be so unsatisfactory that it would have to be followed by a judicial inquiry, said solicitor Ms Anne Marie McCrystal, speaking for the parents. In that event, there was no justification in putting parents and victims through the ordeal of the Minister's inquiry first.
She said nobody could be compelled to appear before the Minister's inquiry, nor could they be made to hand over documents. Only a judicial inquiry could do this.
There was also a doubt as to whether the inquiry proposed by the Minister could publish its report. Difficulties had arisen about publication of the report of the Madonna House inquiry.
That inquiry took place over 18 months up to March 1995, into the sexual abuse of children at Madonna House in Dublin, a child-care facility run by the Sisters of Charity. It was a non-judicial inquiry. It took more than a year for the Minister for Health to publish the report, which contains glaring gaps.
The report's introduction explained the gaps by stating that legal opinion "indicates that substantial parts of the report cannot be published without running a serious risk of committing grave contempt and defamation".
"A number of civil actions have been initiated against the Sisters of Charity and the Eastern Health Board by or on behalf of former residents of the home. Those actions claim damages against the defendants for assault, negligence and breach of duty. The advice indicated that it would be improper and unlawful to publish any material which prejudges issues arising for determination by the courts in the pending proceedings."
The report was published with two missing chapters, arguably the most important, headed "Allegations and Concerns" and "Management and Operation of Madonna House".
The conclusions of the report had several sections missing from the published version. They included sections on allegations, on "other concerns", on "control and management", and on "personnel".
The reference to legal action being threatened against various parties in the Madonna House case has particular implications for Dr McDaid's proposed inquiry. Legal sources in Dublin last night said that any person or body facing legal actions for compensation, for example, would be unlikely to appear before the proposed inquiry or to hand over damaging documents.
Ms McCrystal appealed to the Minister to abandon his planned inquiry and move straight to a judicial inquiry. "Why go through the process when it's a foregone conclusion that it will not be effective? It's not taking account of the victims of sexual abuse at all."
The Irish Amateur Swimming Association last night welcomed the setting up of a helpline by the Minister. It said it also planned to introduce a helpline.