VICTIM groups will not be consulted on the wording of a Dáil motion on child abuse in Catholic-run institutions which will be debated over two days when the House resumes after next Friday’s elections.The whips from all parties will meet next week in an effort to agree the motion, which is likely to include an apology and call on the institutions to commit more substantial sums to the redress for victims.
A motion to this effect was passed yesterday but will be discussed in more detail when the Dáil sits late on Wednesday and Thursday, June 10-11, to discuss a broad range of issues surrounding the Ryan Report.
Health Minister Mary Harney said the revelations in the report "has done incredible damage to the reputation of this country once again".
She told deputies in the Dáil that "our public would expect us all to come together on these issues".
Ms Harney said that all parties will work together on the motion "which is what the public would expect".
She also said that a meeting between the church institutions and the Taoiseach, expected in the next two weeks, will be "very robust".
Sinn Féin’s Caoimhghín O Caoláin asked if Ms Harney and the other ministers involved in drafting the wording of the motion would "also agree to consult with the representatives of the various victims and survivors of abuse in the various institutions?"
Chief Whip Pat Carey later said that while it’s the Government’s intention to consult with victims at all stages "this being a Dáil debate it will be for the parties in the Dáil to vote on".
The parties agreed not to hold the debate when the Dáil resumes on the Tuesday after the elections in order to give the two new deputies, elected in the Dublin Central and Dublin South by-elections, time to settle into their new job.
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