I thank the Minister for her genuine interest in this matter, which has not been lost on the survivors of Michael Shine. I welcome the announcement from the Minister on appointing Lorcan Staines SC as the independent facilitator for the scoping exercise, as requested by Dignity4Patients on behalf of the survivors of Michael Shine. This is a significant and long-awaited step and it is important we acknowledge how long it has taken to get here. I would also like to acknowledge the exceptional support and advocacy provided to survivors by Adrienne Reilly and all at Dignity4Patients. I also want to acknowledge Deputy Nash, who, as he said, for more years than he cares to remember has stood by the survivors, has advocated and has fought for them every step of the way. He was very eager that I, as a newly elected Deputy, was well aware of what had happened to these people, that justice must be sought and that they must find some peace at some stage. The Minister's decision to appoint Mr. Staines, a senior counsel with deep experience supporting victims and vulnerable witnesses, particularly in cases involving sexual violence, is an important signal that this process must be rooted in dignity, compassion and respect. Supported by expert advisers, Maeve Lewis and Phil Scraton, I am confident that their collective expertise with victims of sexual violence and in shaping effective public enquiries will not only be invaluable but will set the direction for the public inquiry that must follow. I want to recognise the extraordinary courage of the survivors. For decades, they have carried the trauma of what they have endured, too often in silence and too often without the support of the very systems meant to protect them. Their perseverance is the reason we are here today. Their determination has kept this issue in the public eye and pushed the State towards the action it should have taken long ago. I have had the honour of meeting victims and survivors of the convicted sexual offender, Michael Shine, and have listened to their brutal accounts of how they were not only abused by Shine, but how they were ignored for so long. I have seen the pain etched on their faces, lines that have deepened over the years not only as a result of the trauma caused by the paedophile, Shine, but also because of the silence and disbelief they have met in their search for answers and accountability. For 30 years Shine, the convicted sexual offender, was hidden in plain sight. He built a successful practice while he abused young boys and men. He became for many a pillar of society and for many a god, while young lives lay in tatters. Michael Shine started working in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in 1964. For context, that was 62 years ago. The first allegations were reported in 1977 but no action was taken. In 1983, further and separate allegations were made but no action was taken. In 1995, Bernadette Sullivan blew the lid off the sordid actions of this sick, vile man and the scandal was exposed. Michael Shine retired in 1995 on a full pension. He continued to live a carefree life while those he abused plunged deeper into despair. Finally in 2017, over 40 years after the first complaint and after serious challenges by Mr. Shine to avoid justice at all costs, he was convicted. I have heard people in Drogheda and in the wider constituency of Louth say that even the dogs on the street knew what he was up to, yet nothing happened. I find this deeply disturbing as it speaks to a society and culture that I cannot comprehend but unfortunately I know has existed for far too long. To date, more than 400 men have come forward. One man aided and abetted by a society and institutions of secrecy and complicity did this to over 400 young boys and men. How did this happen? Who knew? Who did not want to believe? Who knew but simply chose to look the other way and who did nothing?

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