LABOUR TD FOR Louth Ged Nash has welcomed plans for a scoping exercise to examine how best to deal with the issues raised by victims of child sex abuser Michael Shine.
The Minister for Health is expected to bring a memo to Cabinet tomorrow for sign-off of what is understood to be a precursor to a statutory inquiry.
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill’s proposal will allow for a 16-week scoping exercise by a facilitator, who will be appointed before Christmas.
Hundreds of men say that they were abused by Shine over decades while he was a surgeon at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda and operated a private practice in the town.
In spite of over 380 victims coming forward, only nine of these men have had successful prosecutions in the criminal courts.
Speaking today, Nash insisted that the institutions where Shine worked and carried out his abuse needed to be held to account.
The Labour politician, who has been a long-time campaigner for a public inquiry, said he welcomed the plans being put forward by MacNeill.
“There are several hundred victims and survivors being supported at the moment by the Dignity4Patients support group based in Drogheda,” Nash said.
“And I am very clear in my own view, that there are many, many more victims and survivors out there who need to see justice happen.
“Michael Shine was one of the most prolific, if not the most prolific abuser in the history of the Irish health service, and indeed, possibly one of the most prolific abusers that we are aware of in our society at large.
“While he was convicted of a series of crimes a number of years ago and served a short spell in prison, that in itself does not justice make.”
Nash said a formal investigation was needed to establish why Shine was allowed to continue to abuse men and boys as a medical practitioner in Drogheda “with impunity”.
“We need to know who knew what and when. What efforts were made to stop this, if any?
“And the institutions that allowed this to happen and to continue to occur over many, many decades need, in my view, to be held to account. The survivors and the victims of Michael Shine deserve no less,” Nash said, adding:
“My very, very first contribution to the Dáil, when I first elected in 2011, was to call for an inquiry into the activities of Michael Shine, and it looks like we are making some significant progress in that regard.”
Shine was released from custody in 2022 after being jailed in 2019 for abusing seven boys in his care over a period of three decades.
In November 2017, guilty verdicts for Shine on three counts of assaulting two teenage patients on dates between 1974 and 1976 were handed down by a jury. However, he was granted bail pending an appeal against the conviction.
Earlier this year, MacNeill told victims of the former doctor that she was working to deliver “an appropriate and bespoke response” to address the serious issues raised around his abuse.
A proposal to the minister on behalf of survivors had outlined why a Commission of Investigation should be conducted to investigate the longstanding claims that authorities were aware of the abuse for decades.
The document included a timeline of the harrowing history of abuse at both Our Lady of Lourdes and his private surgery, with the first report made to hospital authorities as far back as 1977.
Shine worked as a surgeon at Our Lady of Lourdes from 1964 until 1995. The hospital was run by the Medical Missionaries of Mary until it was sold to the State in 1997.
There have been about 200 civil suits settled by his former employer, the Medical Missionaries of Mary, with fresh cases filed recently in the High Court.
Support is available. Dignity4Patients is a patient support, information and advocacy organisation for people who have experienced sexual abuse, you can call 041 – 9843730, text 0861654111 or email support@dignity4patients.org from Monday to Thursday, 10am – 4pm. Out of hours, call 1800 778 888.