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  Outrage and Then Silence

By Mary Rafferty
One in Four [Ireland]
June 12, 2005

All the promises following the nursing homes scandal sound eerily similar to those given over 2½ years ago in response to another scandal exposed by RTÉ's Prime Time.

The Garda will investigate, there will be a general inquiry and legislation is promised - exactly the blueprint for action guaranteed to allay public concern over the abuse of children by priests in the Dublin archdiocese, and the associated cover-up, as revealed by the Cardinal Secrets programme in 2002.

And here we are, years later, and nothing has materialised. The Garda has undoubtedly done its best, but we know nothing of its conclusions. The Commission of Inquiry, promised so frequently, has never happened.

Meanwhile, those whose lives were so profoundly affected by the crimes committed against them as children are increasingly concerned that the promises have been forgotten, and that the issue is again being consigned to the dark corners of Ireland's past.

It all started out so well. Minister for Justice Michael McDowell approached the matter with deep seriousness, making carefully considered contributions to the D?il in 2002 and 2003. He was clearly aware of the complexities involved but nonetheless resolute in his desire to find a way around them.

Reading again from these debates, they show a minister on top of his form, committed to acting in the public interest, moving with great skill and care to ensure that the mechanism for a State inquiry would be efficient and flexible enough to get to the bottom of the scandal in the Dublin archdiocese, particularly around the issue of the cover-up.

Mr McDowell refused to be rushed, would not be goaded into what he called a "knee-jerk reaction" to the public outrage expressed at the time. In this, he received the general support of the Opposition parties.

He did not fear "the bang of a crozier from any direction", he told the D?il, and solemnly stated that he would not be found wanting. "The issues involved will not go away," he said, "and have to be faced up to by everyone fairly and squarely whatever the difficulties and wherever they lead."

Well, so far, it has all led precisely nowhere. Despite his clearly sincere desire at the time, Mr McDowell has to date been unable to make good on his promise to "follow this where it goes, regardless of how high or how low it goes".

All the brave words of the time ring distinctly hollow at this distance. To be fair to Michael McDowell, the present delay in rolling out the new fast-track commission of inquiry into clerical abuse in Dublin appears to be the fault of Minister for Finance Brian Cowen. His department has some unspecified problem with the commission proposal emanating from the Department of Justice. What is evident is that these two government departments are now at loggerheads over the proposals, which at this stage have been fully agreed with the representatives of victims of abuse.

While it is certainly the job of the Department of Finance to guard the public purse against wanton expenditure, it is not acceptable to subject a matter of such public importance to even further delays. It is ultimately up to the Minister for Justice to drive through these obstacles - it is after all his integrity on the line in this area.

The pattern of public outcry followed by promises of inquiries and tribunals is, however, depressingly familiar. Take symphysiotomy, the barbarous operation performed on women in maternity hospitals to widen their pelvises to facilitate birth. It has left hundreds of women with permanent and severe injuries, and was generally carried out without their consent.

Given that the reasons for it included Catholic concerns that the alternative - a Caesarean section - might result in women using contraception to avoid further pregnancy, former minister for health Mich?al Martin promised an inquiry. Now, the Department of Health says it doesn't know when, or even if, this will happen, leaving a large group of women still looking for answers.

In the case of the victims of Drogheda obstetrician Michael Neary, the promises made to examine options for a compensation tribunal remain unfulfilled. Such a measure is crucial for those women whose medical files have gone missing from the Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, and who consequently have little chance of success in any court action.

The pattern of exposure of scandal, followed by public outcry, promises of investigation and redress, and then silence, has become entrenched in Irish society. This Government has brought it to a fine art, knowing that if it just waits long enough, people will get tired of campaigning for reform, and the issues will die.

Meanwhile, whether they be nursing home patients, women injured by the health service or victims of clerical child abuse, those who have been damaged and deserve our assistance must be left wondering at the fickleness of public opinion and the cynicism of government and its broken promises.

 
 

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