Former minister for education Dr Michael Woods has defended his role
in the negotiation of a compensation deal with the Catholic Church on
institutional abuse.
Dr Woods said the agreement, which saw
religious congregations contribute €128 million towards the cost of the
compensation scheme for victims, was “the best deal that could have been
done at the time”.
“The Government wanted to put the situation
right. Those people had been abused by the State under State
control…Some of these institutions were fully run by the State,” he told
RTÉ Radio this morning.
Although the 2002 agreement capped the
church’s liability for institutional child abuse at less than a tenth of
its likely €1.3 billion total, Dr Woods said that subsequent
examinations of the deal showed “clearly it was the right thing”.
The
Dublin North-East TD last night became the latest Fianna Fáil deputy to
announce he will not be standing in the forthcoming general election.
Speaking
to a party meeting in Kilbarrack in his Dublin North-East constituency
last night, Dr Woods, who celebrated his 75th birthday last month, said
he had spent 46 years full-time in the public service.
“It has
been an honour for me to serve my constituents and my country over this
time,” said Dr Woods, who currently chairs the Oireachtas Committee on
Foreign Affairs.
He pointed out that he had served in government
with five taoisigh.
“I served five times as Minister for Social Welfare,
three times in Health, twice in Marine and Natural Resources, once in
Agriculture and Food and once in Education and Science.”
He was first elected to the Dáil in 1977 and prior to that worked as a Principal Officer in the Agricultural Research Institute.
Paying
tribute to Dr Woods, Taoiseach Brian Cowen said: “His decision not to
contest the next election brings to a conclusion a remarkable career in
politics full to the brim of achievement and delivery for the Irish
people.”
He added: “Michael is the last link in our parliamentary party with the governments led by Jack Lynch.”
Dr Woods will receive a pension as a former TD and minister amounting to
an estimated €106,000 per annum, which is taxable, plus a non-taxable
lump sum of approximately €160,000.
SIC: IT/IE