The Government is piling the pressure on the Sinn Féin President to bring clarity to how the IRA handled child abuse allegations, with Dr James Reilly, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, the latest Fine Gael party member to call on Gerry Adams to clarify the issue.
The Minister says Mr Adams needs to show leadership now:
“He hasn’t brought the sort of clarity that he could and should bring to it in my view.
“I’m not going to be judge and juror of anybody, but I do believe the public demand, and we in Fine Gael demand - and I demand as Minister for Children and Young People and Youth Affairs - absolute clarity about what transpired here, his role and another elected representative’s role in that.”
Last night Gerry Adams admitted the provisionals had taken action against alleged offenders - including shooting them, writing on his blog: “IRA personnel were singularly ill-equipped to deal with these matters. This included very sensitive areas such as responding to demands to take action against rapists and child abusers. The IRA on occasion shot alleged sex offenders or expelled them.
“While this may have been expedient at the time it was not appropriate. Victims were left without the necessary social service support and abusers without supervision. It ultimately failed victims and the community alike. That is a matter of profound regret for me, and many other republicans.
However, Adams repeated his denials of claims by victim Mairia Cahill on how he allegedly handled her claims.
Dr Reilly called on Adams to bring clarity around the issue of how the IRA dealt with child abuse.
“I can’t over stress enough the importance of having clarity around this. We have had decades of abuse and cover up and no accountability. That has to change and, as the leader of a major party here in Ireland, Gerry Adams has to be seen to take a very strong lead on this,” Dr Reilly said.
Dr Reilly was today opening a consultation with children (age 8-12) seeking their views on the person specification for the recruitment of the Ombudsman for Children.
Speaking at the event Minister Reilly said: “Today you will get the chance to give your views on what kind of person the Ombudsman for Children should be. The Ombudsman for Children is a really important job and we need to get the views of children and young people so that the Public Appointments Service can select the right person for the job.” The consultation process was conducted by the Citizen Participation Unit of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.
“Tomorrow, we will have a similar consultation workshop with young people
(aged 13-17) so they can also give their opinions on the person
specification for the Ombudsman for Children,” added the Minister.
First published: 15.38
