I was glad to have the opportunity of meeting Colm O'Gorman and his colleagues from the One in Four organisation yesterday. I salute their work, as well as the courage and pioneering work of many others. They have played an important role in bringing public attention to bear on this issue, as well as providing valuable support for victims, writes Bertie Ahern
But the fact is that I have put child protection in the context of sex abuse within religious institutions and by clergy at the forefront of the work of my term as Taoiseach.
My record in relation to the investigation and exposing of child sexual abuse is second to none. As Taoiseach I oversaw the establishment of the Commission of Inquiry into Child Abuse and the Ferns Inquiry. And it is through this process of inquiry and disclosure that we as a society are enabled to ensure that the abuse and dereliction of duty in the past does not recur. That is the priority of our society. Many other countries, including developed countries like Canada, Australia and the United States, , have had similar experiences and similar responses.
But investigation is not of itself sufficient. Those who have abused their position of trust and abused our vulnerable children must be punished.
Indeed, it was at my specific direction that the Ferns report was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions. There is no special relationship that gives immunity to those who broke our laws and destroyed the lives of our children. Moreover, our position is clear. The laws of this State are binding on everyone including the priests and bishops. That individual priests have been successfully prosecuted and jailed for their offences is the clearest of proof that this is so. There is no Rome rule in Ireland.
The law of our republican democracy is the only law that governs our society and no one is above that law.
The notion that the institutional church has not been held to account is misconceived. Our legal system provides a remedy in damages for negligence by the institutional church. Many victims have successfully sued church bodies for damages. That is their right and entitlement. Our independent judiciary thus will assess the correct level of compensation for that abuse. And our criminal courts will impose sanctions for offences.
The Government is also determined to improve the level of legal protection available for our children. Thus, and in accordance with the recommendations of the Ferns Inquiry, we are creating a new offence of recklessly exposing one to a risk of abuse. In addition we intend to vest the High Court with the power to restrict any person (including a priest) who may pose a risk of abusing children in their care from holding any position that creates that risk.
We are taking all practical steps, as a sovereign Government, to protect our children. Since I became Taoiseach, the Oireachtas has enacted at least six major pieces of child protection legislation. The Government has taken a number of important initiatives to secure the protection of children, including the establishment of the Garda Central Vetting Unit and the appointment of an Ombudsman for Children. Our position is well known to the Irish public and, I believe, to the wider international community. Our actions are clear testimony to our attitude to this problem. We do not need to educate the world to our abhorrence of child sexual abuse. That is an already known fact. The church, at all levels, knows of our anger and that of other states at the cruel saga of child sexual abuse by priests.
I do not apologise for acknowledging the good that has been done by all churches in this State. They have, in difficult times, served the people and, in particular, the poorer sections of our community. Their positive contributions across a range of services (including education) has been immense. It would be a deep disservice to the good clergy and religious and an act of moral cowardice not to recognise this. The minority of religious who abused children have brought disgrace to the institutional church. But that disgrace does not entitle anyone to rewrite history. Nor does it oblige me, as Taoiseach, to ignore the good because of the presence of evil.