The investigation commission into child sex abuse allegations in the Dublin archdiocese will not have enough time to complete its work, Labour has warned.
The inquiry into the much smaller diocese of Ferns took three years, Dublin Central TJoe Costello said. The investigation commission for Dublin, headed by Judge Yvonne Murphy, must first create a list of sample cases to examine that could "take up a number of months".
The sample cases will have to "be advertised for, received, collated, and considered", while the inquiry team will have to lay down rules to ensure that the cases chosen actually represent the total.
"In addition, Judge Murphy will be expected to be on standby to deal with any diocese outside Dublin referred to her and to launch and complete an inquiry into those dioceses also, again within the 18-month deadline." The Department of Finance had been clearly influential in drafting the commission's terms of reference.
"While I hold no desire to see lawyers benefit from these inquiries, I find it hard to believe that an adequate and comprehensive inquiry into these matters can be comprehensively addressed within 18 months." Defending the time offered to the inquiry, Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said the Government had tried to strike "a judicious balance" between the need to give sufficient time for the inquiry to do its work and the need to respond to "the public's concern". However, he said he believed the Houses of the Oireachtas, on the recommendation of the Government, would be prepared to offer more time, if that should prove to be necessary.