Madam, – Jamie Smyth reported (Front page, May 30th) that two years after the Ryan report into child abuse in State institutions there have been no criminal prosecutions. But why the big surprise?
Since 1999, and on the very day the report was published in May 2009, we told the world that no prosecutions would arise on foot of its findings because the legislation establishing the inquiry in 2000 was crafted by the then government to shield the religious orders and State bodies from any legal consequences following any admissions or findings or reports of the commission which can never be used in any criminal or civil court or a tribunal.
The first interim report of the commission during the non-statutory phase on February 4th 2000 spoke of a desire for legislation coming forward “so as to achieve the objective of providing a flexible healing forum”. This was subsequently taken up in the Dáil by the minister for education and science. When challenged about the privileges and protections afforded those under investigation, he retorted that “the listening and telling function of the commission, which is the therapeutic function, is the function to which everything else should be subordinated”, and so the therapeutic commission was born. Not too surprising, therefore, that the survivors received the alleged therapy for what it was worth, and the abusers – State and religious, walked the walk.
When we predicted this outcome in 2000 we were vilified and marginalised by many who said that we ought to have played the game.
– Yours, etc,