I thank the Minister for her personal interest since her appointment in working with Dignity4Patients and the victims and survivors of disgraced paedophile and former doctor Michael Shine. It is to be recognised and noted that we are at a point now that we were not at a few months ago. The first contribution I made in this Chamber on my election 15 years ago was in relation to the actions of Michael Shine, who is probably one of Ireland's most prolific paedophiles. I spoke that day of the need for supports for the Dignity4Patients group and they, with the Minister, have delivered. She has worked collaboratively with Dignity4Patients, the victims and survivors and members of that wonderful group over the past few months to get to the point we are at. As the Minister knows, hundreds of men in my community, specifically in Drogheda but also in the wider Louth and Meath areas, have made formal complaints to An Garda Síochána over many years about the disgraceful actions of Michael Shine over many decades. We are of the view that thousands of men across my community may very well have been affected but have chosen for their own reasons not to come forward. These men are my peers and my contemporaries and their lives have been extremely adversely affected because of the abuse and sexual violence perpetrated against them by a doctor working in our health service over many decades who behaved so many ways in a untrammelled fashion, unchallenged by anyone else bar a few who worked alongside him and those who decided to blow the whistle, who were inevitably targeted for the actions they undertook to expose this scandal, and it is a scandal. Michael Shine, as the Minister knows, has served only a short time behind bars and a criminal conviction and prison sentence do not of themselves justice make. Real accountability will start to be delivered from today. There are high hopes for the scoping inquiry. There is a meeting with the lawyer for Dignity4Patients next week and that Lorcan Staines SC has been appointed as the facilitator along with Phil Scraton and Maeve Lewis who have been engaged to work with the group throughout this process. I look forward to the outcome of that. I want to place on record my gratitude to the Minister on behalf of the people I represent, including my peers and my contemporaries, who have had to deal with this for more years than any of us care to mention, and for the commitment of our newly elected colleague in Louth, Deputy Paula Butterly, who has very much focused on this issue with Dignity4Patients and the victims and survivors over the recent period. That is welcome, it is recognised, it is understood and we are all hopeful of a positive outcome.

Sentiment score: 0.07