FORMER Attorney General Michael McDowell must publicly explain if he was behind a "gagging clause" which prevented abuse victims from speaking out about the horror they endured, the Dail was told yesterday.Under a 2002 clause, survivors seeking compensation from the Redress Board faced the threat of imprisonment if they spoke out about their experiences in state-run industrial schools, Labour's Roisin Shortall told the Dail.
She said that victims' group the Aislinn Centre had asked her to probe who was responsible for the clause, which was introduced when former Justice Minister and Progressive Democrats leader Mr McDowell was attorney general.
"Who decided to add a gagging clause to the Redress Board scheme?" Ms Shortall asked.
Having lost his seat in the 2007 general election, Mr McDowell was not in a position to make a statement to the Dail but should make a public statement clarifying his role, the Labour Party argued.
Last night, the government press office said the relationship between the attorney general and the Government was similar to that of a lawyer and his client.
"Subsequently all advice given would be subject to privilege," a spokesman said.
He added it would not be possible to see the nature of the advice given until all government records were released under the 30-year rule.
But Ms Shortall said Mr McDowell would not be breaking cabinet confidentiality by clarifying his involvement in the scheme.
Apologised
Ms Shortall's comments came as Education Minister Batt O'Keeffe yesterday apologised on behalf of the Government and Department of Education for the abuse endured by hundreds of victims.
"The report [Ryan report] clearly shows how the Department failed to protect these children for whom it had a duty of care," he said.
"Had the Department done its job properly, thousands of children would not have suffered the way they did. We failed them."
He also launched a scathing attack on Labour for questioning the motivation of current civil servants in dealing with the Catholic Church.
His attack followed claims by Labour's Ruairi Quinn that there was still a culture of "deferment and obedience" in the Department of Education to the Catholic Church.
"He has no right to use the privilege of the Dail to impugn the personal integrity and motivations of civil servants working in his department," Mr O'Keeffe said.
Former Education Minister Michael Woods also went on to defend his own involvement in the 2002 indemnity deal with religious orders. He insisted the Government did not have to wait for the extensive Ryan report to know what to do.
"We knew enough and we knew that in the interests of the victims we would have to act with speed," he said.
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