Gabhaim buíochas le gach duine a labhair ar an ábhar tábhachtach seo. I commend Deputy Bacik on bringing this Bill before the House. I acknowledge those survivors and welcome them to the Chamber. They worked to raise awareness of this issue, often at considerable personal cost, long before it reached the floor of Dáil Éireann. This issue was brought to light because of the litigation strategy adopted by the leadership of the Congregation of Christian Brothers, as mentioned by other Deputies who have spoken before me. While the current leadership may not be directly responsible for the acts or the abuse themselves, they are undoubtedly accountable for how they choose to respond to that legacy. Their choices have had a direct and profound adverse impact on victims and survivors, not only in the past but continuing right up to this present day. I welcome again the survivors this afternoon. This Chamber cannot even begin to comprehend how distressing it is for them to have to deal with this order's leadership. In late 2022, this matter was referred to the Law Reform Commission. I would appreciate if the Minister of State could update the House on whether there has been any commission progress to address the legal loophole whereby unincorporated bodies are not obliged to nominate a person to accept service of legal proceedings on behalf of their organisation. Like Deputy O'Rourke, I am not from a legal background. For context, in 2017, the leadership of the Christian Brothers order chose to introduce a litigation strategy that has had the effect of obstructing survivors' access to our civil courts. This is secondary abuse. Survivors speak of years trapped in procedural disputes, unable to progress their cases. They describe being suspended in a legal limbo that delays healing, impedes meaningful engagement with therapy and causes ongoing retraumatisation. Survivors describe the litigation strategy as a continuing exercise of power and control over their lives. For many, it echoes the powerlessness that they experienced as children when they were abused by members of that same order. Survivors are often isolated and initially were not aware that their treatment was part of a broad litigation strategy. They campaigned tirelessly to raise public awareness and provided evidence, examined in the mentioned and award-winning 2023 "RTÉ Investigates" documentary. That programme revealed the litigation strategy, the extent of which we all know now. It brought national attention to the efforts being made by the Christian Brothers order to prevent survivors from pursuing their claims through civil courts. In seeking symbolic justice, survivors also commenced a campaign to rescind the freedom of Drogheda, previously awarded to an individual who, in 2017, presided over the introduction by his order of this litigation strategy. This message was difficult to articulate as the freedom recipient was not directly responsible for those acts of primary harm, and some public representatives spread misinformation and many refused to listen and to allow survivors to express their views. Numerous individuals and organisations, including One In Four, publicly supported the campaign and articulated the legitimate concerns underpinning it. In order to engage with public representatives, survivors of childhood abuse, rape, and torture, whom this Bill is designed to support, experienced little empathy or compassion, blanket refusals to engage, abusive text messages directed at supporters, and complicity by some public representatives as lawful motions were removed or interfered with by non-elected actors. There were extremely hurtful personalised attacks and misinformed victim-blaming in local as well as social media, and conflicts of interest resulting in victims of rape being refused the service they were entitled to by a rape crisis centre, for which Cuan, Ireland's statutory agency for tackling sexual violence, was notified. Arguments being made in media that it was the choice of survivors to be subjected to the religious orders' abusive litigation strategies were akin to 1970s and 1980s Ireland. Public representatives revealed and exercised deference to powerful religious leaders whose choices continue to harm victims. Most hurtful of all was that many public representatives ignored or refused to hear the harm which this choice of litigation strategy was causing. Seventeen victims who travelled to Drogheda to meet public representatives, paid for a meeting room, gave nine days' notice and paid for uneaten sandwiches at that meeting were largely ignored by those invited. Most of them did not even have the courtesy to RSVP and the request was very basic. The survivors wanted to be listened to and treated with dignity. I regret to say that most of these experiences involved elected representatives of the Labour Party at local, national and European level. However, it would be wrong to suggest this problem was confined to one political party. This reflected a broader systematic and political failure rather than a series of isolated incidents. I understand that these concerns were brought to the attention of Deputy Bacik in 2023 and 2024, including requests that concerns regarding the conduct of certain representatives were to be examined, but no responses were forthcoming. These events occurred in 2023 and are relevant to the forthcoming Commission of Investigation into the Handling of Historical Child Sexual Abuse in Schools. If survivors feel unable to secure a hearing from elected representatives today, it is understandable some may be fearful participating in the State process tomorrow. I therefore ask Deputy Bacik to meet these survivors and listen to their experiences. The survivors request that One in Four support them in this meeting. This legislation can mark a new chapter. I commend Deputy Bacik again. Survivors are grateful to her for bringing forward this Bill. They acknowledge her past work with survivors and believe that she will be willing to bring transparency, learning and accountability. Survivors have asked me to put on the Dáil record their eternal appreciation for the broadcast journalism of Michael Reade. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis. Without Michael's extraordinary work ethic and his compassion, they believe that we will not be debating this Bill today. I look forward to engaging with this Bill on Committee Stage and subsequent Stages.

Sentiment score: -0.09