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Date:: 01 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:38:14

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Cloyne abuse victims will attend secret tribunal...... Victims of clerical abuse in Cloyne have said they will co-operate with the Church’s secret canonical tribunal into the actions of Fr Ronat, a North Cork priest who was the subject of 11 complaints of abuse in the Cloyne report. Archbishop of Cashel and Emly, Dermot Clifford, the apostolic administrator of the Cloyne diocese, said he intends to reconvene the secret court, which was suspended in 2009 because victims wanted to first see the outcome of the Dublin Archdiocese Commission of Investigation’s report on the handling of abuse in the diocese. The court was established under the auspices of Archbishop Clifford and could lead to Fr Ronat being defrocked. He will be represented by an advocate qualified in canon law. The court will consist of two clerical canon lawyers and a notary. The complainants who allege he sexually abused them will also be invited to give evidence. The victims have questioned how many tens of thousands of euro have been spent by the state in providing free legal aid to Fr Ronat during criminal trials and in his efforts to have more of the report redacted at the High Court. Despite a failure by the courts to convict the priest, the victims have said they have an "all guns blazing" attitude to next year and that they will not give up their fight for justice. "It has been a desperately hard few months for us," said a victim, described in the report as Fenella. "Words cannot express what it felt like to see him work free from court. And you know not one priest made one word of support towards us at any pulpit in Cloyne." In recent weeks, the final chapter of the Cloyne report was published — the chapter that dealt with complaints against Ronat. This chapter was the longest in the Dublin Archdiocese’s investigations into Cloyne. It showed how 11 complaints of abuse were made to the diocese about Fr Ronat and eight complaints were sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions, yet the priest has not been convicted. Meanwhile, the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church has finished its report into the handling of clerical sex abuse complaints by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. It is not known if order will publish the audit which was expedited after a scandal broke out last summer about historical clerical abuse at Carrignavar College in North Cork. By Claire O’Sullivan, Sunday, January 1, 2012

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Date:: 02 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:43:15

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Married bishop heads new Catholic structure...... Pope Benedict XVI named a married former Episcopal bishop to head the first US organisational structure for disaffected Anglicans and Episcopalians who want to join the Catholic Church. The Reverend Jeffrey Neil Steenson, a father of three and Catholic convert, will lead the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter, the equivalent of a diocese, that will be based in Houston, Texas, but will operate nationally. The Vatican created the first such ordinariate in Britain last year. Other ordinariates are being considered in Australia and Canada. Rev Steenson stepped down in 2007 as the Episcopal Bishop of Rio Grande, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, after the Episcopal Church elected the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. Rev Steenson had said he was “deeply troubled” about the direction of the US denomination and he described the Catholic Church as the “true home of Anglicanism”. The Episcopal Church is the US Anglican body in the United States. Benedict in 2009 issued an unprecedented invitation for Anglicans to become Catholic in groups or as parishes, at a time when traditional Anglicans in several countries were increasingly upset by the ordination of women and gay bishops. Formerly, Anglican converts to Catholicism were accepted on a case-by-case basis. The Pope’s decision created tensions with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the spiritual leader of the world Anglican Communion, who like his predecessors had been in talks with Vatican officials to bring Anglicans and Catholics closer together. The 77-million-member Anglican fellowship has its roots in the Church of England, which split from the Holy See in 1534 when English King Henry VIII was refused a marriage annulment. At the time of the Pope’s announcement, Anglicans were already fracturing over Bishop Robinson’s election and other issues. The Archbishop had little advance notice of the Vatican announcement. Still, after meeting privately with the pope soon after, the Archbishop of Canterbury said he was convinced that there was no “dawn raid” on his church by the Holy See. Under the Pope’s plan, Anglicans who become Catholic will be allowed to keep some of their heritage in liturgy and other areas. Married Anglican priests who convert can stay married and be ordained in the Catholic Church, an exception to the Vatican’s celibacy rule. Married Anglican bishops, however, cannot retain that position, and will serve the Catholic Church as priests. More than 100 Anglican clergy have applied to become Catholic priests in the US ordinariate. Church officials said more than 1,400 individuals are seeking to join. The US Episcopal Church has just under two million members. Many Anglo-Catholics in the United States had never been part of the Episcopal Church. Monday, January 02, 2012

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Date:: 02 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:44:14

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Priest back after false abuse claim...... A priest wrongly accused of sexual abuse has returned to full ministry. Father Sean Cahill voluntarily stood down from duties at St Malachy's church in Castlewellan after the claim was made against him in early 2010. In August last year it emerged that no charges would be brought against the priest. Bishop of Down and Connor Noel Treanor welcomed Fr Cahill back to ministry at St Malachy's at this morning's mass. Bishop Treanor said the unfounded allegation had had a devastating impact but stressed the priest returned with his character unblemished. "After thorough and lengthy investigation by the police and the Public Prosecution Service, an investigation with which Fr Sean Cahill and the Diocese co-operated fully, the PSNI, the Public Prosecution Service, the Social Services and I, as Bishop of this Diocese, are satisfied that there was no basis for the allegation," he told the congregation. "The preliminary canonical enquiry was completed and Fr Sean Cahill has resumed priestly ministry, the same innocent priest he was when he voluntarily stepped aside in February 2010. "Unfounded allegations have a devastating effect on any person, but the allegations levelled against Fr Sean Cahill, who has dedicated his life to selfless service of Church and community, damage not only his life but also his family, his parish, his diocese, the Church and wider society. In addition, such baseless allegations do colossal damage to the cause of the genuine survivors of abuse, including clerical abuse. "Today however is a day for joy at the start of a new year. Fr Sean Cahill now resumes ministry in the Diocese of Down and Connor in the knowledge that his suffering over the past two years, borne with such personal courage and strength, supported by his family, by friends and by you, his parishioners, is at an end." Bishop Treanor thanked the congregation for the support they had given the priest during the past two years. By David Young, Monday, January 02 2012

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Date:: 02 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:45:12

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Sex assault service sees one child per week........ The country’s only dedicated 24-hour examination service for child sexual assault victims dealt with more than one child a week last year — the youngest of whom was aged 18 months.The service, for children and adolescents in the west and mid-west, was set up voluntarily last year by consultant paediatrician Dr Joanne Nelson, who had to lobby extensively to have it funded by the HSE. The service saw more than 52 young people in 2011. Dr Nelson said two consultants now provide 24-hour cover at least 98% of the time, in and out of hours, and are hoping to train up more forensic examiners in child and adolescent sexual assault in the next few years to ensure long-term sustainability. "Unfortunately, outside of our area, as yet there still is no dedicated 24-hour service for child sexual assault," she said. Dr Nelson said immediate specialist examination is crucial in gathering evidence for abuse cases, but only in about 10% of cases do young people present within seven days of abuse. "Most of our cases are Gardaí cases and in terms of conviction, evidence is vital. When you have young children, four and under, who are not able to verbalise what has happened to them this limits prosecution also. "We see young people across a whole spectrum of ages from under 4 to 14 and some historic cases up to 18; the youngest this year was 18 months." Details of a new national service for child victims of sex abuse are to be published early next year after an audit of current services was carried out. The HSE said, however, any new plans will have to be catered for within existing resources. Mary Flaherty, head of CARI, a therapy and counselling service for people affected by child abuse, said it was "extraordinary" that when an adult is the victim of sexual abuse in any area of the country there is a network or services to support them. "They have medical and social support but if you are a child options are very limited. There are two services in Dublin and one in Galway and although there are others who will carry out assessments around the country, they do not have the expertise or specialities they should. We are very hopeful now that a national service will be rolled out," she said. Currently, services across the country are not unified and do not operate in comparable ways. Two services for young people in Dublin — St Clare’s and St Louise’s — are different to the Galway service in that they are assessment and therapy-based rather than the forensic medical examination which is available in Galway. Dr Derek Deasy, director of the St Clare’s sexual abuse assessment and therapy unit at Temple Street hospital, said its main role is to carry out assessments and give opinions around allegations, as well as providing medical care. He said the unit had 230 referrals last year from the Dublin area. By Jennifer Hough, Monday, January 02, 2012

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Date:: 02 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:46:03

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Numbers of adopted children in care unknown....... The number of adopted children in care is not known by the HSE, the Department of Health or the Department of Children, despite it being raised as a concern by social workers as far back as 2005. The only major report commissioned into intercountry adoption outcomes in Ireland, in 2005, explicitly criticised the lack of post- adoption services and the fact that a number of internationally adopted children had ended up in care. "All social workers were aware of and concerned about the lack of post-adoption services. Although it did not arise in this study, all knew of cases where adoptions had broken down and internationally adopted children had been taken into care," said the study. According to figures published in the Adoption Authority annual reports, between 1991 and 2008, a total of 3,966 children were adopted from abroad. The authority has not published an annual report since 2008. The Irish Association of Social Workers also confirmed it is anecdotally aware of cases where internationally adopted children ended up in the care system. A Freedom of Information request to the HSE was returned within one day, stating that the HSE’s National Specialist for Children and Families did not hold such information. "The HSE does not hold data in regard to children originally adopted. We also sought advice from the Department of Health and they have also advised that they do not hold this information," said the response. The HSE advised that the Adoption Authority may hold the information, despite the HSE having statutory responsibility for the placing of children in care. The Adoption Authority said it did not hold the information. In October, Adoption Authority chairman Geoffrey Shannon said there was a need for more research on outcomes for children who are adopted internationally. "If a child spends a lot of time in institutions, he or she could have behavioural problems. We have never looked in detail at them. Parents need to be informed of the difficulties they might encounter and receive post -adoption support," he said. By Conall Ó Fátharta, Monday, January 02, 2012

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Date:: 03 Jan 2012
Time:: 12:04:31

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Social workers to take up child services posts after year delay….… Pause in recruitment delayed 60 workers taking up posts in child- protection services, writes Carl O’Brien…….. Sixty workers who were due to be hired last year to strengthen child-protection services are now taking up their posts, Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald has said. On foot of the recommendations of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, the Government pledged to appoint additional social workers. However, during the middle of 2011 it emerged that health authorities had introduced a recruitment pause for hiring of up to 1,400 staff – including social workers – as a result of financial pressures facing the organisation. In an interview with The Irish Times , Ms Fitzgerald said offers had recently been made to 55 individuals and the remaining posts would be filled shortly. “The 60 posts have been cleared completely. The budget is in place and the latest information available from the HSE indicates that 55 additional posts have been filled or accepted. A further five posts were due to be offered to candidates over recent days and filled very shortly afterwards,” she said. Ms Fitzgerald said the additional workers would be targeted at priority areas of the service as identified by the national director of children and family services at the HSE, Gordon Jeyes. Some 200 additional social workers were hired last year on foot of the recommendations of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse. It is likely most posts will go into frontline child-protection services, where pressure is most acute on social workers. In recent months, the independent chairwoman of a group established to review deaths and serious incidents involving children known to social services expressed concern about pressure on frontline social work services. Dr Helen Buckley of Trinity College Dublin said this meant many social work teams were unable to respond quickly to many child welfare referrals.She also said the lack of co-operation between different agencies responsible for providing services to children at risk was an issue that needed to be addressed. Ms Fitzgerald said the recruitment of the additional social workers was one element of a broader change agenda within the HSE which would deliver better outcomes for children and families. These reforms will involve the establishment of a new child and family support agency which will provide a dedicated focus on child protection. “This is something we did not have in the past when child protection was part of the broader HSE remit,” Ms Fitzgerald said. A taskforce is overseeing the design and delivery of the new child and family support agency, which will be separate from the executive. This is likely to be established in 2013. It is understood that, in the meantime, a transitional agency will operate within the HSE with a ringfenced budget under the leadership of Mr Jeyes. Ms Fitzgerald said the new body would play a crucial role in delivering what she hoped would be a “world-class Irish service” for family support, child welfare and protection services. Tuesday, January 3, 2012

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Date:: 04 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:28:54

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Group takes embassy fight to the Dáil........ A national lay initiative which grew out of the Government's decision to close Ireland's embassy to the Holy See is set to grow in 2012 with a high-profile public meeting with political leaders scheduled later this month beside the Dáil. The group Ireland Stand Up describes itself as ''one of several national lay initiatives respectfully campaigning to reverse this Government's decision to close Ireland's Embassy to the Holy See'' and to invite the Pope to Ireland for the closing of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress in June. The group has already held a national postcard campaign to lobby the Taoiseach Enda Kenny to reverse his Government's decision to close the embassy and was inundated with requests for cards and public support. The Irish Catholic also understands that Government deputies, particularly Fine Gael members, have expressed deep disquiet about the decision of Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore to effectively downgrade Ireland's historic relationship with the Holy See by closing the embassy. The group is now calling on people around the country to come to Buswell's Hotel beside the Dáil on Kildare Street on Wednesday January 18 ''to voice concerns and request the reversal of the decision to close the embassy and to invite the Pope to IEC2012''. According to a spokesperson, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has indicated that he is unable to attend the meeting but that Mr Gilmore may yet agree to attend. The group reports enormous support for its postcard campaign from Mayo, the home constituency of the Taoiseach and have requested a private meeting with Mr Kenny as soon as possible to voice their concerns. The spokeswoman also indicated that there are several TDs who have indicated a desire to meet with the group and are supportive of its aims and objectives. It comes as the Pope's new representative to Ireland papal nuncio Dr Charles Brown is expected in Ireland to present his credentials to President Michael D. Higgins and take up his appointment. By Paul Keenan, 4 Jan 2012

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Date:: 04 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:30:38

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Realigning Church-State relations...... This year will be a time when the relationship between Church and State will have to find a new equilibrium following the rupture of 2011 which culminated in the Government's decision to downgrade the State's relationship with the Holy See. The publication of the Cloyne Report provoked considerable anger particularly because of the fact that Judge Yvonne Murphy uncovered mishandling of allegations of abuse in 2008 -- 12 years after all Irish bishops had pledged to implement robust procedures that would ensure that children were protected and the reputation of the Church in this sphere was restored. It's ironic that it is Bishop John Magee, former private secretary to Popes Paul VI, John Paul I and John Paul II, who will probably be remembered as the man who precipitated an unprecedented frostiness between Church and State marked most notably by the Taoiseach Enda Kenny's extraordinary attack on the Holy See. Mr Kenny's speech, despite the hyperbole-bordering-on-hysteria and the gross factual errors, cleverly articulated and tapped into the genuine anger felt by many Irish Catholics about the failures exposed in Cloyne. Whatever the deficiencies of the speech, he gave voice to the frustration of people who had heard repeated assurances that policies and procedures were universally rock-solid when the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (NBSCCC) painted a very different picture, in Cloyne at least. Some of the noises coming from Leinster House were, of course, little more that political posturing. It's hard to fathom, for example, that having demanded a comprehensive response from the Holy See to the Cloyne Report that exhaustive response was simply dismissed by the Taoiseach and Tánaiste, neither of whom felt inclined to engage with the substance of the Holy See's response. This new year can, if approached with honesty and maturity, mark a new beginning in Ireland's relationship with the Holy See. The new papal nuncio Archbishop Charles Brown -- who will be consecrated in Rome tomorrow (Friday) -- is due to arrive later this month and has evidently been carefully chosen for the role. Archbishop Brown will have to draw on all of his pastoral instincts and the skills he has honed in working in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) in recent years to bring fresh vision to his role. While he will obviously have State-related diplomatic duties to attend to, his first concern will surely have to be given to the much-needed and long-awaited reform and renewal of the Church in Ireland. The report of the Apostolic Visitation is expected shortly and it will have to contain some concrete and credible proposals and reforms if a jaded Church (laypeople, priests, religious and bishops) is to be lifted out of a cynical vicious circle. When it comes to the political sphere, leaders and policy-makers will have to reassess how they engage with issues of faith. More than a couple of senior politicians -- who really ought to know better -- have expressed their view that the civil service is heavily infiltrated by 'secretive Catholic organisations' while declining to offer any evidence for the alleged presence of bogeymen among them. Too often politicians, perhaps scarred by the wounds of the controversial referenda of the 1980s/1990s, often characterised as Church-State clashes, are fighting old battles and railing against an authoritarian and narrow-focused Church that (thankfully) no longer exists. Restoring a good name: Co. Down-based priest Fr Seán Cahill was restored to full priestly ministry at the weekend after police said abuse allegations against him were unfounded. One can't even begin to imagine how devastating it must be for a priest (or indeed anyone) to be the subject of a false allegation. Fr Cahill, who has served the Church for almost 50 years, spent almost a year out of ministry while the allegation was investigated. The pain of being the subject of an unfounded allegation is intensified because of the way such allegations are immediately reported in the media and the priest involved named before anyone has an idea of whether there is a case to answer. It is right that the safeguarding of children is of paramount concern to the Church and all allegations need to be thoroughly investigated by the competent authorities. However, there is a heavy responsibility on the media to treat priests fairly and grant them the same presumption of innocence. Newspapers and broadcasters who have reported on the allegations must also take every necessary step now to ensure that the wider public is made aware of the fact that the allegations against Fr Cahill were found by the statutory authorities to be unfounded. By Michael Kelly, 4 January 2012

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Date:: 05 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:37:01

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US bishop resigns over paternity..... “Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala (60) resigned under the code of canon law”. The pope has accepted the early resignation of a Los Angeles bishop who recently acknowledged being the father of two teenagers. Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala (60) resigned under the code of canon law that lets bishops step down earlier than the normal retirement age of 75 if they're sick or for some other reason that makes them unfit for office. In a letter to the faithful, Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez said Dr Zavala had told him in December that he had two children who lived with their mother in a different state. Dr Zavala subsequently submitted his resignation to the pope. The archdiocese has offered spiritual and financial aid to help the children with college costs, Dr Gomez said in the letter posted on the blog of the Catholic News Service of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. Meanwhile, Pope Benedict XVI named Monsignor Cirilio Flores to eventually take over the San Diego diocese when Bishop Robert Brom retires. In 2007, Dr Brom oversaw a $198.1 million settlement with 144 people who said they were sexually abused by priests, at the time the second-largest abuse settlement since the scandal broke out in the United States in 2002. Thursday, January 5, 2012

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Date:: 06 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:38:33

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PART 1….Wednesday, 24 October 2007..... Man raped and abused young girls……… A man has admitted abusing and raping two young girls at a number of locations across Scotland. …… Peter Ireland, 46, of Pennywell Road, Edinburgh, but formerly of Dumfries, began abusing the girls when they were aged six and three. The court was told that the abuse took place in Edinburgh, Sanquhar, Ullapool and Dumfries between 1990 and 2003. Sentence was deferred at the High Court in Glasgow until next month when a plea in mitigation will be heard. The court heard that Ireland told the girls the abuse was "their secret". When each girl reached the age of 12 he began raping them on a regular basis. Jennifer Harrower, prosecuting, said: "When the oldest girl turned 12 the accused progressed to actual intercourse and repeatedly raped her. "She indicated it was always very sore and that the accused would tell her to pretend that he was someone else. "She also said that on some occasions she and the younger girl would be sexually abused at the same time." Victim's letter: The younger girl also said Ireland started to rape her when she reached the age of 12 and stopped when she became 16. Ireland admitted raping both girls and using lewd, indecent and libidinous practices towards them. The court was told the sexual abuse came to light after one of his victims wrote a letter to Ireland saying she had told the police what he had done to her. Ireland then told police he had abused two girls. ,

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Date:: 06 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:39:51

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PART 2…Friday, 6 December 2012.... Child rapist Peter Ireland dies in prison...... A man convicted in 2007 of raping two young girls has died in Peterhead Prison. The Scottish Prison Service has confirmed that Peter Ireland, 50, died on Monday. He was jailed for nine years at the High Court in Glasgow after admitting attacking the young girls at addresses in Edinburgh, Wigtownshire and Dumfriesshire. The abuse started when one of the girls was just three years old. The death has been reported to the procurator fiscal.

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Date:: 06 Jan 2012
Time:: 11:28:35

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Report on child deaths in care to be published....... Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald hopes to publish the report into the deaths of children known to the care system within the next month to eight weeks, provided the Attorney General does not raise any legal issues blocking its publication. The report, carried out by the Independent Review into Deaths of Children in Care, was passed to the office of Ms Fitzgerald just before Christmas. It is now with the Attorney General and Ms Fitzgerald said yesterday that if there are no legal impediments to publication she hoped to publish it by the end of the month or at some stage over the next eight weeks. "It certainly would be my hope to have it [published] very early this year," she said. The report, which looks at the deaths of 196 children between the years 2000 and 2010, found that in 115 cases reviewed by the panel the cause of death was unnatural causes, ranging from suicide to drug overdose to accidents and killings. The children whose files are reviewed within the report are not named but some relate to high-profile cases, such as that of Danny Talbot, who was 19 when he died in a homeless hostel in 2009. His case is before the Dublin city coroner and his representatives have strongly criticised the HSE over what they argue were errors made regarding his care and the placement options open to him. Other cases include that of Tracey Fay, who died in 2002 of a drug overdose. The HSE report into her death was published by Justice Minister Alan Shatter when he was on the opposition benches. Ms Fitzgerald said the child deaths report would need to be reviewed to see whether some deaths were preventable. The report — carried out by child law expert Geoffrey Shannon and the Barnardos head of advocacy Norah Gibbons — and which runs to hundreds of pages, is understood to also include criticism of the HSE over the initial delay in accessing some of the files relating to the children involved. The Health Amendment Act 2010 was passed to facilitate the passing of documents from the HSE to the minister’s office and her predecessor, Barry Andrews, and they were then passed on to the review panel. A separate review panel has been investigating deaths of those known to social care services since March 2010, during which time 35 young people have died. By Noel Baker,Friday, January 06, 2012

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Date:: 06 Jan 2012
Time:: 11:30:21

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Former priest must return to face indecency charges....... A former Irish priest who was deported from Brazil to England on St Stephen's Day is to be returned here to face indecent assault charges. Peter Kennedy (72) was refused bail in London and ordered to return to Ireland after the court heard he was a "classic fugitive". The ex-cleric is at the centre of child sex abuse allegations made by 18 complainants over incidents between 1968 and 1984. Mr Kennedy, who had travelled to Brazil on a British passport, appeared before the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court in London yesterday morning. Counsel for the judicial authorities in Ireland, Adam Harbinson, said the arrest warrant detailed 55 separate allegations of indecent assault on 18 complainants. Mr Kennedy, who has no previous convictions, first made news here in 2003 when a former victim of his was awarded €325,000 in compensation -- in one of the largest individual payouts on an Irish clerical sex abuse case. It is understood he had been working as an English teacher in Brazil before his deportation to the UK. The former member of the St Patrick's Missionary Society was ordained in 1964 and worked for some years in Kenya before moving back to Ireland. The society said previously that he ceased active ministry in 1986 and was formally laicised in 2003. Yesterday the court in London heard he was to be sent back to Ireland, giving him seven days to appeal the case. He will be deported within 17 days. When asked if he understood, Mr Kennedy replied "yes". He was refused bail due to the seriousness of the offences and his lack of ties. The judge said the arrest warrant was in order and valid and ordered the deportation. Mr Harbinson opposed bail for Mr Kennedy. He said the allegations started in 2002 and Mr Kennedy then went to Brazil at the same time which was "clearly not a coincidence". The court was told he had no settled address here. "He is a classic fugitive," Mr Harbinson said. He had been arrested at Gatwick in the UK after being returned from Brazil by the authorities who had declined to issue him with another visa. Defence counsel Joanna French said her client was 72 and a UK national. He currently has no Irish passport. The court heard he suffered from high blood pressure. If he was given the opportunity for bail, he would surrender his passport, the court was told. By Eimear Ni Bhraonain, Friday January 06 2012

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Date:: 07 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:01:44

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Social workers urged to take care in abuse cases....... Sending an army of young women out to deal with horrific situations even gardaí find difficult could have devastating consequences, it has been warned. Dr Helen Buckley, chairwoman of the HSE’s review panel for serious incidents and child deaths, said we could not escape the fact that social workers are generally young women and that recent high-profile abuse cases have shown what can happen when you have such a system. "We are sending out an army of young women to deal with situations that even the gardaí would have trouble dealing with. So what can you expect?" Dr Buckley said there could be issues of women being controlled by someone who is an abuser, but it was a bigger issue when others in power turned their back and scapegoated social workers when things go wrong. The co-author of the Ferns report said social workers needed to be more aware of their statutory function. "It’s not just that the law is on their side, it’s that they are legally obliged to protect children. Under the Childcare Act, the HSE is required to act in best interests of a child, and social workers are legally required to implement this. They have the authority and this needs to be understood. They can tell parents where to draw the line, they can say ‘that’s enough’ and should invoke the law in a more coercive way." Parents’ constitutional protection should not make a difference to social workers, she said. Dr Buckley reiterated her concerns around imminent new laws around mandatory reporting. "It cannot be seen as the solution to all of our problems. In the high-profile cases we have seen in recent times, there has been no evidence that it has been down to a lack of reporting — it’s the lack of response that has been the issue. "We must be careful not to believe that mandatory reporting will solve everything. It sounds good but it may result in over reporting, and will take away from actually responding. It will result in more paperwork and red tape and could work to weaken the ability of the HSE to deal with the cases they know about." She said the HSE’s inquiry into the Galway abuse case where a mother and father were both convicted for heinous crimes against their own children will be as comprehensive as that into a case in Roscommon concerning abuse carried out over 15 years. The report will probably not be ready until the third quarter of next year, she said. The abuse was first brought to the attention of the health authorities in 2000 but continued for another nine years. The father was recently jailed for life for the horrific abuse of four of his daughters. He is already serving a sentence for the abuse of another of his daughters. The mother was jailed for eight years last July for eight sample charges of neglect and cruelty to her children over a seven year period. By Jennifer Hough, Saturday, January 07, 2012

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Date:: 07 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:02:35

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Mandatory abuse reporting urged....... An International expert on child protection has urged Ireland to proceed with introducing mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect as a progressive and important means of ensuring the safety and welfare of children. Prof Kirsten Sandberg, a Norwegian who serves on the UN Committee on the Rights of Children, said she believed the benefits of introducing mandatory reporting far outweighed any concerns people might have over such a move. It was mandatory in Norway for all public authority staff and some in the private sector such as teachers in private schools or those in private agencies dealing with children to report suspicions of abuse or neglect, she noted. “We had this debate about mandatory reporting at the end of the 1980s in Norway and quite a few doctors thought it was a bad idea because it would breach the confidence that patients need to have in their doctors, but specialists in child psychiatry wanted it. “There was some initial opposition, but I think now most people recognise that it is important that any abuse or neglect of children is reported and it’s become accepted – I think the mandatory system has worked well in Norway,” she said. There was some concern in Ireland that the introduction of mandatory reporting would impact on family rights, but it was important that constitutional protections for the family did not override protection of children, she added. “I would advocate the introduction of a mandatory reporting system here; as far as I understand, it is the right to family life which is the main counter-argument – but at the outset, the family should have its right to family life and not be interfered with. But I cannot see why a right to family life should be a right to neglect or abuse a child – I cannot see that argument, and that’s why I think it’s so important for both individual children and for the society that those cases are being brought to the attention of the authorities.” Prof Sandberg said mandatory reporting in Norway applies only to cases of serious abuse or neglect – a threshold that is too high in her view, as it does not allow for reporting of less obvious psychological cases. Speaking at a seminar organised by the Child Law Clinic and the Institute for Social Science in the 21st Century at UCC, she said she was surprised by Ireland’s delay in introducing a constitutional provision guaranteeing the rights of children. By Barry Roach, Saturday, January 7, 2012

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Date:: 08 Jan 2012
Time:: 18:14:37

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Dutch church victims to get payouts based on level of abuse suffered...... Support group Hulp Recht says scheme offers greater awards to victims of paedophile Catholic priests than going to court...... Hulp Recht, which has strong links with the Catholic church, devised the system to offer speedy settlements to victims of abuse. A group set up to help victims of paedophile priests in the Netherlands has defended a scheme that calculates compensation according to the level of abuse suffered, saying the amounts awarded will be far higher than if individuals were to pursue cases through the courts. Hulp Recht, which has strong links with the Roman Catholic church, devised the system to offer speedy settlements without people having to resort to costly and lengthy legal procedures. Bishops have agreed to the tariff and the settlements are funded by the church. But the scheme, which offers €25,000 (£21,400) for single or multiple acts of rape and €100,000 for "excessive sexual abuse", has angered some of the hundreds of people affected by the scandal. Jan Brenninkmeijer, from Hulp Recht, said: "You can get compensation through the courts, but most of the cases are against people who have died or the abuse happened a long time ago. "So what we tried to do is work out what someone would get if they went to court. We've had negative reactions from victims who say money is not enough, but money will never be enough. "But when you compare our system with the US one, where there is a claim culture, we don't have this habit. What would a judge say? We are looking at these cases as normal abuse, not church abuse. What compensation would a judge give to someone who had been abused by a teacher? It would be rare for a judge to award this level of compensation." Earlier this week, an independent commission, which looked at physical and sexual abuse cases as far back as 1945, said financial assistance was not enough and that the church must provide practical support as well. Brenninkmeijer said about 2,000 people had come forward saying they were victims of clerical abuse and that around 600 of these had made formal complaints. Half of this number would get compensation, he added. "The other cases are difficult to prove because it is one person's word against another. They need to prove there has been sexual abuse. With the larger sums of money, they would have to prove there had been lasting damage." Dutch media reported that a representative of Klokk, an organisation representing the victim groups, revealed the packages would only cover a fraction of legal costs already incurred by some. Guido Klabbers, from Klokk, told the Guardian: "The level of practical and financial assistance is insufficient and the definition of abuse is too narrow. We are looking for the moral compensation, it is not our mainstream desire to have financial compensation."

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Date:: 09 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:38:52

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State's report on children 'overdue'........ The Ombudsman for Children Emily Logan has urged the Government not to allow its focus on the economy lead to the neglect of its commitment to children. Ms Logan said when Ireland ratified the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child in 1992, it signed up to making five-yearly progress reports to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. However, Ireland had missed its last deadline and its report was now overdue. “Taoiseach Enda Kenny announced that Ireland was seeking election to the UN Human Rights Council and while this move is welcome, I would like to see congruence with the Government meeting its responsibilities in terms of the human rights for children,” she said. “Ireland failed to report on what progress, if any, has been made in the area of children’s rights in 2006 and it was given until 2009 to do by the UN Committee on Children’s Rights but we still have not filed that report so it’s well overdue and needs to be addressed.” Speaking following a seminar on child protection in UCC, Ms Logan said the report to the UN should address key children’s rights and welfare issues such as the continued detention of children in St Patrick’s Prison, child death, child protection, corporal punishment and children’s rights in the Constitution. Ms Logan also said she had written to the Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald and offered her office as an agency to oversee the investigation of all child deaths in State care in line with best practice on the issue internationally. An independent review into the deaths of children in care presented to the Government just before Christmas, but not yet published, found that some 115 children died from unnatural causes while in State care between the years 2000-2010. The report compiled by a team under child law expert Geoffrey Shannon and Norah Gibbons, director of advocacy at children’s Charity Barnados, was completed in just under a year but is currently being reviewed by the office of the Attorney General. Ms Logan also paid tribute to Mr Shannon and Ms Gibbons for their work on the deaths of children in care over the last decade. Barry Roche, Monday, January 9, 2012

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Date:: 10 Jan 2012
Time:: 08:47:13

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The death has taken place of the journalist Mary Raftery following an illness. She was 54-years-old. Ms Raftery was best known for her 'States of Fear' documentary series, which revealed the extent of physical and sexual abuse suffered by children in Irish industrial schools and residential institutions. It led to the creation of the Commission of Inquiry into Child Abuse. In 2002, her 'Cardinal Secrets' programme for RTÉ's Prime Time led to the setting up of the Murphy Commission of Investigation into clerical abuse in the Dublin Archdiocese. Ms Raftery worked for RTÉ from 1984 until 2002, going on to write a column for The Irish Times and teach at the Centre for Media Studies at NUI Maynooth. She also continued to produce programmes for RTÉ, the last of which - 'Behind the Walls' - was broadcast in September 2011. http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0110/rafterym.html Rest In Peace, Mary. You'll never be forgotten.

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Date:: 10 Jan 2012
Time:: 09:32:25

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Raftery was best known for the 1999 States of Fear documentary series in which the extent of abuse suffered by children in State schools that were run by the church was revealed. Her work was widely viewed as having led to the establishment of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse which reported its findings in May of 2009. One of four children, she worked as a sub-editor and journalist for In Dublin magazine before going on to write for the current affairs publication Magill in 1984. It was there that her investigation into the background of a prominent Dublin family of professional criminals first alerted her to the effect of industrial schools on the lives of the children committed to them and would lead to her later work. Her 2002 Prime Time Investigates documentary Cardinal Secrets led to the establishment of the Murphy Commission of Investigation into child sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Dublin. After she left RTÉ in 2002, she wrote a regular column for the Irish Times and was a frequent contributor to radio and television. She also taught at the Centre for Media Studies at NUI Maynooth and continued to produce TV programmes for RTÉ. Her last documentary was broadcast in September of last year. In the two-part series Behind the Walls she charted the history of Ireland’s psychiatric hospitals, their appalling conditions and the resulting damaged lives. Her work was recognised with two Irish Film and Television Awards in 2003 and 2005, the Justice Media Award in 2004, the Larkin Award in 2010 and in November of last year she received the Irish Tatler Woman of the Year Media Award. RTÉ has paid tribute to Raftery. Director General Noel Curran said this morning: “Mary Raftery’s journalism was defined by determination and fearlessness. Her record in broadcasting is extraordinary, and not just in Current Affairs, with which she is most associated. She has left an important legacy for Irish society particularly for some of our most vulnerable citizens.” Irish Times foreign affairs correspondent Mary Fitzgerald said: “The Irish media has lost a giant with the untimely passing of Mary Raftery. She shone a light into so many dark corners of our society. RIP.” Broadcaster Joe Duffy also said this morning, saying: “The untimely death of investigative journalist Mary Raferty – honest, dignified, determined , good humoured-RIP.” Raftery is survived by her husband David Waddell and their son Ben.

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Date:: 11 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:48:29

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Pioneering work in TV uncovered child abuse scandals..... The funeral of journalist and broadcaster Mary Raftery (54) will take place tomorrow morning in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin. She died at St Vincent’s hospital in Dublin yesterday morning following an illness. She is survived by her husband David Waddell, their son Ben, her mother Ita, sister Iseult and brothers Adrian and Iain. The funeral ceremony will take place at 11am. An outstanding journalist of her generation, she produced some of the most powerful and influential current affairs programmes broadcast on RTÉ television. As significant were her 1999 book Suffer the Little Children – The Inside Story of Ireland’s Industrial Schools , written with Eoin O’Sullivan of Trinity College Dublin, her opinion columns for this newspaper from 2003 and her play No Escape , based on the Ryan report, which was staged at Dublin’s Peacock Theatre in 2010. Her RTÉ 1999 States of Fear documentary on institutional abuse, broadcast over three weeks in April-May of that year, led to then taoiseach Bertie Ahern apologising to victims of institutional abuse on behalf of the State. It also led to the setting up of what became known as the Ryan commission, which reported in May 2009, and to the setting up of a confidential committee which heard in private the stories of victims of institutional abuse. States of Fear was also responsible for the then government setting up the Residential Institutions Redress Board. To date, it has compensated approximately 14,000 people, who have received an average of €63,000 each. In October 2002, her programme Cardinal Secrets – with reporter Mick Peelo – investigated the cover-up of clerical child sex abuse in Dublin’s Catholic archdiocese. It led to the Dáil passing the Commission of Investigation Act 2004 and the setting up of the Murphy commission, which reported in November 2009. The remit of that commission was extended by the government to include Cloyne’s Catholic diocese in January 2010. Its report on Cloyne was published last July. Last September, her two-part series Behind the Walls , on the harrowing story of Ireland’s psychiatric hospitals, was broadcast on RTÉ One television. She wrote extensive analysis pieces for this newspaper following publication of the Ryan report in May 2009, the Murphy report in November 2009 and the Cloyne report last July. She was one of four children of Adrian and Ita Raftery. Her father was an Irish diplomat and the family travelled widely before returning to Dublin when Mary was 12. She attended the Sacred Heart school on Leeson Street followed by a period at Mount Anville before moving to Pembroke School – formerly Miss Meredith’s – in Ballsbridge. In her fifth year there, she and two other girls from the school were sent to St Conleth’s, a boys school on nearby Clyde Road, for honours maths and physics classes. They were the first girls to be taken in at St Conleth’s. From there she went to UCD to study engineering. Half way through the course, she got involved in journalism and student politics. As she wrote in this newspaper in 1999, “engineering was great but I discovered it wasn’t for me. I spent my time writing and agitating and didn’t complete the course.” Throughout her school and college years, she played the cello, including a stint with the National Youth Orchestra. It led to her becoming involved in the student union at the College of Music on Dublin’s Chatham Row. After engineering, she spent 18 months as the UCD student union’s sabbatical education officer. Later she became a freelance journalist with In Dublin and Magill magazines and various newspapers. She joined RTÉ in 1984, working on programmes such as Today Tonight, Check Up and Prime Time. She left RTÉ in 2002 to become a freelance film-maker and journalist. She then taught media at NUI Maynooth, wrote opinion columns for The Irish Times and continued to make television programmes. Summing up her work in a Sunday Independent interview last September, she said: “The most important thing you can do is to give a voice to people who have been silenced. And . . . what else would I be doing?” By Patsy McGarry, Wednesday, January 11, 2012

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Date:: 11 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:52:20

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Most influential and finest journalist of last 25 years......... Mary Raftery was arguably the finest Irish journalist of the last 25 years and unarguably the most influential. Because of her, there are two groups of people for whom Ireland will never be the same again. The Catholic hierarchy will never recover the authority it lost when she exposed its systematic covering up of child abuse and Irish children will never again be so utterly exposed to systematic exploitation by those in power. At a time when the value and the values of professional journalism are being called into question, her work stands as one of the greatest examples anywhere of the capacity of a committed, skilled and eloquent reporter to change things for the better. I remember vividly the first time I saw Mary, in 1975, when we were both 17-year-olds newly arrived in University College Dublin. I was waiting, along with the other awkward, uncertain freshers, for a class to begin in a huge lecture theatre when this small woman appeared at the podium to tell us about problems at the College of Music, where she also studied, and to ask for support for a protest. Everybody shut up and listened, for she was like an adult among adolescents: serious, authoritative, able to communicate with precision and clarity. Perhaps because she had spent some of her childhood in France, she had an air of confidence that was startling in an Irish teenager. She was, at 17, exactly the figure the Irish public came to know much later from TV and radio, a woman who could be at once compelling and calm, fiercely rational and blazingly passionate. I went on the protest – there seemed to be no choice. Mary was part of a group active in student politics and on a newspaper imaginatively called Student . Many of us migrated from UCD to In Dublin magazine. We were besotted by the American New Journalism, interested in applying the techniques of narrative fiction to the real-life stories of a changing Ireland. We were inordinately pleased with ourselves, but Mary was different. She worked slowly and methodically on hard, factual stories. Her first big piece was about the property mogul and crook who was the forerunner of those who embodied the Celtic Tiger. It was called Patrick Gallagher: Property Speculator and Brat. I remember that it bothered her at the time that she was unable to be explicit about a key part of Gallagher’s story: his closeness to Charles Haughey. It was typical of her tenacity that many years later, when she was working for RTÉ’s Prime Time , she produced the first documentary evidence of a truth that every Irish journalist knew but none could prove – that Haughey was on the take. She found, in a receiver’s report on Gallagher’s failed companies, reference to a payment from Gallagher to Haughey. Mary was a terrific print journalist, as her columns and analysis for The Irish Times would later show. But television played to her greatest strength – her ability to move seamlessly between the intimately personal and the monumentally political. TV tells stories through people and hates abstraction. That can tip it too easily towards the merely intimate, wallowing in personal suffering without challenging the structures and institutions that make it inevitable. Mary had the perfect combination of humanity and intellectual rigour, the ability both to move in very close and to stand back in cool appraisal that can turn television into dynamite. The strongest mark of her achievement was one she would not have wanted: the debacle of RTÉ’s false accusations against Fr Kevin Reynolds. It showed how easily mere indignation could be misdirected and how extraordinary it was that never once did she lose perspective and allow scrupulousness to be overcome by anger. She first perfected this combination on a health series called Check Up , probably envisaged initially as a health and lifestyle magazine show. She retained those elements while pushing it into hitherto taboo areas like medical negligence. It was that ability to keep a programme warm and intimate while tackling tough and painful material that armed her for the enormous personal and professional challenge she undertook over two decades: exposing the appalling abuse of children by the institutions of church and State. It always seemed to me that the two things she studied and abandoned fed into the extraordinary power of the States of Fear and Cardinal Sins programmes. One was engineering and the other was music. She abandoned her engineering degree and later, much more reluctantly, gave up playing the cello when she concluded that she could not give it the exclusive attention it demanded. I think though that she took something vital from each of them: the engineer’s sense of structure and the artist’s sense of empathy. In the making of a long, harrowing series like States of Fear , structure without empathy would have been hollow and empathy without structure would have been ineffectual. The series was perfectly and robustly engineered, but at its core was Mary’s extraordinary empathy with people who had suffered so appallingly. It is hard to exaggerate how difficult it must have been on a personal level for her to spend so much of her life exploring the very depths of human depravity and institutional cynicism – qualities that were so alien to her own decency, modesty and morality. The people whose stories she told were not just journalistic material – they were wounded human beings whose trust she had to earn and keep through the force of her honesty and compassion. She was sustained by her strong bond to her husband David and by her ironic sense of humour (she was one of Ireland’s greatest chucklers). Above all though she was profoundly affected by her love for her own son, Ben. It was as a mother that she could imagine the pain and terror and confusion of all the lost childhoods she chronicled. Her dearest wish would be for an Ireland in which savage injustice would not demand such implacable courage as hers. It does not exist, but thanks to Mary Raftery, it is appreciably closer. By Fintan O’Toole, Wednesday, January 11, 2012

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Date:: 11 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:57:03

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Mary forced us to face hard truths because she really cared...... I never once came away from a conversation with Mary Raftery without learning something. She had an incredible mind; an extraordinary ability to absorb and store information combined with a gift for insight and analysis the like of which I have rarely encountered. Mary had a nose for the truth, and an unwavering commitment to get to the heart of a difficult, complex and challenging issue and reveal it with objectivity and real integrity. She cared enough about people to not simply dismiss the terrible things she saw as someone else's responsibility but to do something about it herself. She held up a mirror to Irish society, and in her measured and gentle tone she doggedly revealed the darker truths about how we have treated each other. She forced us to finally hear the voices of the children we abandoned to torture in state-funded institutions. She fought to expose the truth of how Ireland punished women and girls whose family circumstances or reproductive history offended a society determined to be blind to the simple realities of life. Most recently, in what would be her final television series 'Behind the Walls', she asked us to face the truth of how we have treated people detained or placed in psychiatric institutions. In her writing and other media contributions she was searing in her analysis of how those in power responded to her films and the various investigations that followed them. She never suffered blather or fudge or spin. She never lost her cool, never raised her voice in anger. She blew away lies and deceit and mealy-mouthed excuses for terrible failure with simple truth. Mary knew how to reveal these stories. She was forensic in her pursuit of the facts, and never gave up. Where others might have been intimidated by the barriers they faced from a system and a society determined to keep the truth hidden, Mary seemed to know no fear. She was dogged in her pursuit of the truth. But what made her truly extraordinary was the depth of her humanity. She cared. Not about getting the scoop, not about winning awards, but about the people whose stories she told, about justice and what was simply right. She was all that a truly great investigative journalist should be. I hope that Mary's legacy will be even more than her body of amazing work. I hope that in considering her loss, those charged with the management of our media will value her contribution enough to ensure that her real legacy is an enduring respect for the importance of painstaking and courageous investigative journalism. In a world where few of our institutions, including the media, remain untouched by scandal or corruption of one kind or another, Mary should be an example to our media of what it should and can be. Tireless and fearless, insightful and objective, honest and compassionate, her loss is a loss to us all. Colm O'Gorman is executive director of human rights organisation Amnesty International Ireland. By Colm O'Gorman, Wednesday January 11 2012

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Date:: 11 Jan 2012
Time:: 11:07:47

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‘Without Mary so much of our past would remain hidden’....... Mary Raftery’s work exposed many abusers who had been protected by the Church, writes Andrew Madden I was shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the death of broadcaster and investigative journalist Mary Raftery. I’d known for some time that Mary had been unwell and was very much hoping that she would recover, but sadly that was not to be. Although her career had started years earlier, I first became aware of Mary Raftery when the States of Fear documentary series, which she had made, was broadcast in 1999. States of Fear revealed the extent of physical and sexual abuse suffered by children in Irish industrial schools and residential institutions and its broadcast forced the then government to set up the Commission of Inquiry into Child Abuse presided over initially by Justice Mary Laffoy and subsequently by Justice Sean Ryan. The work of the Child Abuse Commission led to the publication of the Ryan Report, which in turn set out in detail its findings in regard to the allegation that thousands of children had been physically and sexually abused in schools and institutions run by religious orders. The year prior to the broadcast of States of Fear, Catholic priest Father Ivan Payne had been convicted for the sexual abuse of nine boys, including me, over a 20-year period from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s. I had already gone public myself in 1995 about my childhood experiences at the hands of Ivan Payne and I started campaigning for an inquiry into how allegations of child sexual abuse by Catholic priests were handled as it was by then obvious, from both the Ivan Payne case and the Brendan Smyth case, that both priests had continued sexually abusing children long after Catholic Church authorities had been in receipt of allegations about them. How many other priests had Catholic bishops covered up for and where were they now seemed a reasonable question to be asking at that time. Not too many people were interested in the answer. For four years my efforts were in vain until early in 2002, when Mary Raftery approached me about a Prime Time Special she was making with journalist Mick Peelo. She had been investigating the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin and had uncovered that Catholic bishops had knowledge of allegations of child sexual abuse against several priests and the evidence suggested these allegations had been covered up and those priests had been left, like Ivan Payne, in positions where they had access to more children. Mary knew much of the detail of my story but asked me to share as much of it as I felt able to with her, which I did. I found her easy to talk to and I knew from her reaction that she understood the significance of what I was trying to do and she shared my concerns about children being sexually abused by priests that the Catholic Church was protecting. The broadcast of that Prime Time Special, Cardinal Secrets, changed everything. Within days the then Justice Minister Michael McDowell announced that the Government would set up an inquiry into how allegations of child sexual abuse against priests in the Archdiocese of Dublin were handled. That inquiry led to the publication of the Murphy Report in November 2009. Two hugely significant pieces of work from Mary Raftery, States of Fear and Cardinal Secrets caused an Irish Government to eventually rise to its responsibilities and investigate an issue it clearly wanted to ignore, and an organisation it didn’t want to upset. Without Mary’s determination so much of what we know about our collective past would still remain hidden. We see from the Ryan and Murphy Reports, and indeed the Cloyne and Ferns Reports, that very few of those priests and religious who physically or sexually abused children were ever charged with criminal offences and certainly no bishop who concealed such abuse ever saw the inside of a courtroom for acts of cover up, which left child molesters and rapists with access to more children in new parishes. And so, for too many survivors, having those reports on the public record is the only justice they have ever received. Mary Raftery contributed hugely to helping survivors receive at least that level of justice: the Ryan and Murphy reports are part of the public record of this country and will remain there and continue to inform us for many years to come. Mary was instrumental in helping many people, including me, as we sought to expose the truth about what the Catholic Church and others knew about the sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests in Ireland. Mary understood that the Church’s concealment of the sexual abuse of children was systemic but that it could best be exposed by helping survivors share personal experience and through her work provided a way for some of us to do that. I will be forever grateful to Mary for all she has done to help shed a light where it wasn’t wanted and I offer my condolences to her family, friends and loved ones. * Andrew Madden, author of Altar Boy: A Story of Life After Abuse. By Andrew Madden, Wednesday, January 11, 2012

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Date:: 12 Jan 2012
Time:: 11:16:07

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Mental illness - Honouring a brave campaigner....... Whether you agreed with him or not, it is undeniable that John McCarthy, founder of the mental health lobby group Mad Pride, has put the state to shame by heightening public awareness of the issue of mental illness which, more often than not, has been swept under the carpet, and been the subject of a discredited form of enforced treatment in this country. As with his friend, the late Mary Raftery, whose fearless brand of investigative journalism was celebrated in these columns yesterday, his passing also warrants public acknowledgement, especially for having turned the spotlight on the plight of people whose rights have been trampled under foot by successive administrations. As a sufferer of mental illness, he knew precisely what he was talking about. Tragically, after overcoming that personal hurdle and having then survived a battle with cancer, he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease two years ago but approached that challenge characteristic good humour until his death earlier this week. He will be buried in Cork today. As an outspoken and articulate advocate of the rights of those touched by mental illness, he saw the importance of celebrating what he termed "the normality of madness". Taking the first significant step towards achieving that seemingly strange objective, he organised the first annual Mad Pride festival three years ago, an event which has now been held in Cork, Tullamore and Portlaoise. Those who may have scoffed at the apparent naiveté of such a crusade will doubtless feel humbled in the face of the outpouring of tributes to his personal courage and honesty in addressing such a highly sensitive topic in an open and straightforward manner that could give no offence. In so doing, he has shed new light on how the question of mental health should be addressed. He regarded the institutional response of forcing a ‘cure’ on sufferers of mental illness as a most damaging and abusive ethos that ought to be challenged and resisted. Regrettably, in that context, his appointment by Government to a group charged with implementing the National Disability Strategy came far too late to enable him apply his insights to the problems confronting those who live with mental illness. There is no denying his effectiveness in bringing about a sea change in how mental illness is now viewed. This is in marked contrast with the sense of shame surrounding discussions of this kind in the past. To further advance this newfound feeling of openness, the incarceration of patients with mental illness behind the high walls and locked doors of state institutions should also be brought to an end. By opening up debate on mental illness as something just as normal as any other ailment and which, therefore, should be discussed in that light, he has performed an extremely important public service. At a time when suicide is on the increase in Ireland, there has never been a greater need for his brand of charismatic support, especially for those mired in financial difficulty including many at grave risk of being weighed down by depression. Thursday, January 12, 2012

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Date:: 12 Jan 2012
Time:: 11:17:37

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Gardai must answer claims of alleged cover up in Fr Niall Molloy case, says family...... Gardai have refused to dismiss a sensational new claim that they were involved in a top-level cover-up in the case of murdered priest Fr Niall Molloy. The allegation has been read by thousands of people who bought the Christmas bestseller Badfellas by leading crime writer Paul Williams. In it, he says that notorious Dublin criminal John Traynor returned the stolen Garda file on the Molloy case in return for a promise that charges against him would be dropped. Williams says “The file contained notes and statements that certain people in power did not want in the public domain.” John Traynor is the prime suspect in the murder of Sunday Independent journalist Veronica Guerin. He was the crime reporter’s main underworld source, and prior to her murder was seeking a High Court injunction to prevent her writing about his connections with organised crime. He fled the country after her death in June 1996 yet Gardai have always claimed they did not have sufficient evidence to link him to her murder. A nephew of Fr Molloy, Bill Maher, whose family have been denied justice for almost 27 years, said this week: “If this extraordinary claim is untrue, why won’t the Gardai come straight out and deny it? “The country’s top crime reporter is effectively saying the police acted corruptly in this case. Either he is right or he is wrong. Why this silence from the Gardai? Our family has suffered long enough in the pursuit of justice for our beloved uncle and we are now calling on Commissioner Martin Callanan to answer these charges.” Fr Molloy was brutally beaten to death in July 1985 in the aftermath of a lavish society wedding in the home of his close friends Theresa and Richard Flynn in Clara, Co Offaly. Among the high-profile guests was Brian Lenihan senior, the then deputy leader of Fianna Fáil and former minister for justice. A post mortem found that the 52-year-old Roscommon curate died as a result of numerous blows to the head. The bride’s father, Richard Flynn, was charged in court with manslaughter one year later. But the trial judge directed that Mr Flynn be acquitted on the grounds that Fr Molloy may have died of a heart attack. At the inquest one month later, a jury ruled out the possibility of heart failure and decided unanimously after 12 minutes that the priest had died as a result of acute brain hemorrhage consistent with severe injuries to the head. It subsequently emerged that Justice Roe was an acquaintance of the Flynns and had written to the then DPP Eamonn Barnes in advance of the trial, in an attempt to subvert the course of justice. These letters were contained in the Garda file, which was stolen from the DPP’s office by Martin ‘The General’ Cahill in 1987. Cahill broke into the office after hearing that the file contained information that would embarrass the authorities. In the midlands, it is widely believed that people other than Richard Flynn were responsible for the murder. In October 2010, the Irish Independent uncovered vital new evidence that other people were present in the Clara mansion on the night of the murder, including a county surgeon with close connections to Fianna Fáil. Six months after Fr Molloy’s death, this doctor died suddenly at the age of 50 after confessing to a friend that his life was in turmoil as a result of what had happened in Clara that night. This and other critical information including new witness statements were given to the Gardai by the Irish Independent, and former commissioner Fachtna Murphy called for a review of the case by the Cold Case unit, which has been ongoing now for more than a year. At the time, both Labour and Fine Gael pledged that the case warranted a public inquiry. Last month, the Molloy family expressed their ‘utter disillusionment’ at the pace of the new Garda review and said they had a distinct impression that it would not bring their uncle’s killers to justice. “From the very start, we have been so disturbed and frustrated by the Gardai’s handling of the case,” said Mr Maher. “The initial investigation was grossly incompetent. Vital evidence, including Niall’s broken watch, was handed back to us hours after his murder, and to this day, with all the modern technology available to the Guards, blood found in the house has still not been identified.” Two Gardai involved in the case have also expressed their disbelief at the state’s failure to deliver justice. The first officer at the scene of the crime, retired Sergeant Kevin Forde, says he is bewildered that the killers are still at large. Last night, former detective inspector and Evening Herald columnist Gerry O’Carroll, who initiated his own investigation into the case following personal concerns of a cover-up, described the revelations regarding John Traynor as “disturbing in the extreme.” “I could never understand why Traynor, the number one suspect in Veronica Guerin’s murder, was allowed to come in and out of our country with impunity,” he said. “The allegation that he may have escaped all these years because he handed over the Fr Molloy file is utterly shocking and merits an immediate independent judicial inquiry, given all the new evidence pointing to a state cover-up. “I tried to pursue this case privately because I was so concerned that justice had not been done, and I was hit over the knuckles by the authorities for stepping outside my remit and almost confined to barracks for it. Known in gangland circles as the ‘Coach’, Traynor (63) is currently in custody in Britain where he is serving a sentence for handling stolen bearer bonds. By Gemma O'Doherty, Thursday January 12 2012

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Date:: 12 Jan 2012
Time:: 11:18:42

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Child porn man's hoard 'worst in UK'...... A civil servant had more of the worst type of child sex abuse images in his possession than in any other case ever investigated in the UK, a court was told yesterday. Belfast man Barry James Shaw (31) also admitted in police interviews to boasting online that he fantasised about the rape and torture of children. And he further admitted to police that he wished it was he who had snatched missing toddler Madeleine McCann in Portugal in 2007. Shaw, of Balfour Avenue in Belfast, yesterday admitted downloading and distributing images of children being abused. Standing in the dock of Belfast Crown Court, dressed in a brown coat and jeans, he pleaded guilty to 24 charges of making indecent images of children and a further four of distributing indecent images, on dates between February 2006 and August 2009. Many titles which appeared in the 28-count indictment against Shaw are too graphic to publish, but two relate to videos police uncovered on his computer. Following applications by solicitor advocate Dennis Maloney, Shaw was released on continuing bail pending the completion of pre-sentence probation reports, as well as psychiatric reports. He will be sentenced next month. During an earlier court hearing it was revealed that when experts analysed Shaw's computer they uncovered more category five child pornography images - the most extreme type of such images - than ever before found in a single case in the UK. The court also heard that during police interviews Shaw confessed to boasting about sickening fantasies in online chats with other perverts, including the rape, murder and torture of babies. He also admitted to police that he wished he had kidnapped Madeleine McCann. The disappearance of the English three-year-old from her parents' holiday apartment in Praia Da Luz in 2007 caused a worldwide sensation. 12 January 2012

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Date:: 12 Jan 2012
Time:: 11:19:54

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Nun in sex-abuse trial can't be named..... An application by the State to prevent the naming of a Catholic nun facing 87 charges relating to the alleged sexual abuse of children has been granted, writes Greg Harkin. Prosecution counsel Dara Foynes made the application at Sligo Circuit Court, where the nun appeared yesterday. Judge Tony Hunt granted it. The case had been moved to Sligo from another county for hearing. The judge also banned publication of the name of that county. Earlier, the court had heard that the case was moved to Sligo at the request of the nun's legal team. "There are 87 counts in relation to offences of a certain nature," said Ms Foynes. Judge Hunt remanded the nun on continuing bail to appear at the same court on March 6...Wednesday January 11 2012

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Date:: 12 Jan 2012
Time:: 11:20:47

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Religious orders still owe €500m to victims....... Religious congregations still owe the State more than €500m in compensation for the thousands of children abused while living in their care. The contribution was to come in a mix of cash and property. The only additional yield to the state in 2011 was a cash contribution of €450,000 and an extra €3.5m of property. In some cases the property is not acceptable or is subject to legal constraints. Education Minister Ruairi Quinn, who took a strong stance on the matter while he was in opposition, has had little success in speeding things up. Last night he said he was "committed to work with all concerned to progress". The congregations' half share of the €1.36bn cost of settling with about 14,000 victims of residential institution abuse amounts to €680m. To date they have offered €477m and only about €127m has been handed over. On top of what they have offered, the Government is also seeking a further €203m to bring the figure to €680m. By Katherine Donnelly, January 12 2012

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Date:: 13 Jan 2012
Time:: 11:25:23

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Journalist recalled as a 'voice for the voiceless'......... Journalist and broadcaster Mary Raftery was remembered at her funeral as “a voice for the voiceless” and her profession’s “finest exemplar” at her funeral yesterday. A large number of abuse victims were among the big crowd at the humanist ceremony, which had been prepared by Ms Raftery herself, and took place at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin. Her husband David Waddell said his was “a command performance. She asked that I speak and, slightly witheringly, said – if you’re able to!” Following the publicity on her death, he felt “we must concentrate on her flaws. It is important for balance.” He said she couldn’t cook for nuts and had even burnt a boiled egg; she was a dreadful gardener and played pool viciously. She was also a great supporter of the Leinster rugby team. He recalled she drew inspiration from ideas rooted in “socialism, social democracy, human rights, human dignity”, and from Primo Levi’s book If This is a Man , about surviving in a German concentration camp. Her idea was “to be a voice for the voiceless” and those who needed support in pursuit of justice. In this she faced opposition from institutions, “including RTÉ”, in the preparation of the 1999 States of Fear series. There was “little support” for Mary or her colleague Sheila Ahern then, which had “direct adverse health consequences for both of them”. He said “with friends and family we will overcome this agony”. Sheila Ahern also spoke of the difficulties both faced at RTÉ in getting States of Fear broadcast. “At one stage Mary said to me ‘we’re going’ – I said ‘where?’ and she said ‘we’re packing tapes and all and we are going home’. She was absolutely determined to leave taking the transmission tapes and not coming back. Luckily there were phone call negotiations . . .” She concluded: “I have lost my best friend but she’ll never be far from my heart.” Niece Isolde Raftery said her aunt “loved children and, growing up, she treated us all as adults”. Friend and colleague Irish Times journalist Fintan O’Toole said: “Irish society was blessed to have her courage and integrity and Irish journalism was blessed to have in her its finest exemplar of the ways in which a sometimes grubby business can yet immensely enrich a democracy . . . “Those of us who were her friends are blessed to have shared, in however small a way, in a life that will not be extinguished while the dream of justice lives in our hearts,” he said. Chief mourners were Mary’s husband David, their son Ben, her mother Ita, sister Iseult and brothers Adrian and Iain. Captain Emmet Harney represented President Michael D Higgins, with Cmdt Mick Treacy representing Taoiseach Enda Kenny. Government Ministers in attendance included Pat Rabbitte, Joan Burton, Róisín Shortall and Joe Costello. Abuse victims present included John Kelly, Carmel McDonnell-Byrne, Michael O’Brien, Colm O’Gorman, Dr Margaret Kennedy, Mannix Flynn, Paddy Doyle, Don Baker, Marie Collins, Andrew Madden and Darren McGavin, whose evidence led to former priest Tony Walsh being jailed for 16 years. RTÉ was represented by director general Noel Curran, head of news and current affairs Ed Mulhall, head of corporate communications Kevin Dawson, former director general Cathal Goan and former head of religious programmes Fr Dermod McCarthy. Among the large numbers from RTÉ were broadcasters Miriam O’Callaghan, Mary Wilson, Joe Duffy, Marian Richardson, and Cathal Poirtéir. Among those from The Irish Times were Editor Kevin O’Sullivan and managing editor Paddy Smyth. Also present were Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly, Alex White TD, Fiach Mac Conghail of the Abbey theatre and actor Lorcan Cranitch, who performed in Raftery’s 2010 play No Escape. Later the wicker coffin was carried outside by Sheila Ahern, Sheila De Courcy, Mary’s sister Iseult, niece Isolde, Pauline Waddell and niece Deirdre Roycroft. By Patsy McGarry, Friday, January 13, 2012

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Date:: 13 Jan 2012
Time:: 11:54:36

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Reporter gave 'voice to voiceless'....... The partner of pioneering broadcaster Mary Raftery has claimed that she faced opposition from RTE when making her landmark documentary 'States of Fear'. David Waddell told mourners at the journalist's funeral yesterday that the health of his partner and that of her colleague, researcher Sheila Ahern, were affected by the lack of support for the 1999 programme. Family, friends and colleagues of Ms Raftery packed the 17th-century Great Hall in the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham for a poignant service peppered with humour and emotion. It was a humanist ceremony and featured several tributes to the woman responsible for some of the most powerful and influential broadcasts on RTE television. Ms Raftery was best known for the 1999 documentary that exposed institutional abuse and led to the then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern apologising to victims on behalf of the State. Mr Waddell spoke of how little support she and Ms Ahern had received, with opposition from the state broadcaster and other "more powerful institutions". "These had direct adverse health consequences for both of them," he said. Cabinet ministers, including Labour's Joan Burton and Pat Rabbitte, were among the mourners, as well as child-abuse survivors and campaigners, including Andrew Madden and Kevin Flanagan -- whose brother Michael had been in the Artane Industrial School -- and Colm O'Gorman, founder of the One in Four group. RTE director-general Noel Curran and his predecessor Cathal Goan were also present, along with writer Roddy Doyle, journalist Nell McCafferty and broadcasters Miriam O'Callaghan, Joe Duffy and Mary Wilson. In an eloquent eulogy, Mr Waddell spoke of how his partner gave a "voice to the voiceless". "While she was an objective, brave and analytical journalist, she was motivated by the ideals of socialism, social democracy and respect for human rights," he said. He joked about how there was a need to highlight some of her flaws, including her cooking and the fact that she was a "theoretical gardener" who liked to "direct the labour force". Her colleague and close friend Sheila Ahern, who worked with her on 'States of Fear', described her as the "bravest person" she had ever met. She spoke of difficulties the pair faced within RTE over the programme. "She knew if she backed down it would have jeopardised the impact the series had," Ms Ahern said. Ms Raftery's niece Isolde recalled how her aunt told them stories about the world and she finished her tribute with moving words from Ms Raftery's mother Ita, who said the world would be an empty place without her. 'Irish Times' columnist and friend Fintan O'Toole spoke of how Ms Raftery had given up two college courses, in engineering and music, after being "led astray" by various mat- ters, including politics and agitation. "The two Marys that never were -- Mary the engineer and Mary the musician -- came together to create the Mary Raftery who will inhabit the history books as the most important and influential journalist of late 20th and early 21st-century Ireland," he said. Ms Raftery is survived by her partner David, son Ben, mother Ita and sister and brothers Iseult, Adrian and Iain. By Colm Kelpie, Friday January 13 2012

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Date:: 14 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:31:39

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Anger at lenient child porn term.......... An eight-month jail sentence handed down to a man who downloaded almost 10,000 images of children being abused has been branded "far too lenient". At Belfast Crown Court yesterday father-of-one William Fisher (22) received the jail term after he admitted downloading the images, which including scenes of bestiality. On imposing a five-year sexual offences prevention order (Sopo), Judge Patrick Lynch QC told Fisher by using such images for sexual gratification he was "aiding and abetting the assistance" of the child pornography industry. Judge Lynch added: "There are victims. There is a victim with every photograph which has been taken and you are assisting an industry that creates victims of young children." The court heard that police had seized two computers when they searched Fisher's Tates Avenue home in south Belfast on May 27, 2010. Prosecuting lawyer Jonathan Lowry told the court that officers uncovered 8,052 photographs, including 18 bestiality pictures and 339 movie files, with 21 of those relating to bestiality. When arrested Fisher admitted downloading the sickening images, initially through a file-sharing website, but then moved on to seek out and download images from sites specifically dedicated to the abuse of children. He later pleaded guilty to 30 charges of possessing indecent images of children and two further counts of possessing extreme pornography on dates between June 2008 and April 2010. Defence QC Ciaran Mallon said Fisher was motivated by curiosity, initially seeking out images of girls in their late teens, but added that "clearly the curiosity progressed beyond that". Achieve NI founder Mandy Mc Dermott, a counsellor and a former Britain's Children's Champion award winner, said the eight-month sentence for such a large quantity of abhorrent images was "far too lenient". She called for tougher sentencing for sex offences relating to children. "Paedophilia is a despicable crime and sentences need to reflect the horror this crime inflicts on innocent children. "The question I would ask is, is this eight-month sentence going to deter any paedophile from committing this crime? My opinion is, absolutely not. To be stamped out, paedophiles need to receive punitive sentences which send out a very clear signal." Since the charges were made public Fisher was sacked from his job with Charles Hurst and his daughter has been put on the social services child protection list. As part of the five-year Sopo, Judge Lynch barred Fisher from owning or having access to a computer without monitoring software, having unsupervised contact with children, or from working with children. He also ordered him to sign the police sex offenders register. Ulster Unionist MLA and justice committee member Basil Mc Crea said he understands many people will be very concerned by the sentencing decision, adding: "I will be writing to the Attorney General and the Lord Chief Justice to ask them to make sure the decision was within guidelines." Background: For many years courts in Northern Ireland have relied upon the guidelines issued by the English Court of Appeal in R v Oliver. The well established categorisation of indecent material set out in Oliver is now widely used by UK police forces, including the PSNI, to assess increasing seriousness of the material. The categorisation ranges from one to five, with five the worst material………… Sick haul latest in a string of vile cases......... There is a victim with every photograph. This was the reminder from Judge Patrick Lynch QC to the south Belfast man sentenced to eight months in prison yesterday for downloading horrific images of child sex abuse, some involving bestiality. William Fisher is just the latest in a disturbing series of custodial sentences handed out for viewing the sickening abuse of children. Earlier this week Belfast Crown Court heard that a civil servant from Belfast, Barry James Shaw, had more of the worst type of child sex abuse images in his possession - category five - than in any case ever investigated in the UK. The court also heard that Shaw had fantasised that he was the man who abducted Madeleine McCann. The 31-year-old of Balfour Avenue, who appeared on a 28-count indictment, will be sentenced next month after admitting downloading and distributing images of children being abused. In October 2011 former primary school caretaker Ernest Logan (61), from Bangor, was jailed for six months for possessing more than 146 indecent images of children, including 11 defined as category four. He also had a phone that contained more than 900 pictures of unidentified young girls, but these were not deemed to be indecent by the authorities. Last October one of Northern Ireland's most infamous cyber perverts, who once paid a Thai mother for photographs of her children, was jailed. Ian Magill (63), from Ballyhornan Road, Downpatrick, was arrested at Heathrow Airport returning from a secret trip to Thailand with a laptop containing graphic images. In 2007 Magill was handed a two-year jail term for 50 indecent images, including categories four and five. By Amanda Poole , Saturday, 14 January 2012

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Date:: 14 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:33:03

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Baby assault thug gets four years......... A thug who grabbed a six-month old baby by the throat and threw him onto a sofa has been jailed for four years, but could soon be freed due to time spent on remand. Ordering Adam Patrick Toner (24) to spend at least two years of the sentence in custody, Belfast Crown Court Judge Patrick Lynch QC told him it would be up to the Parole Commissioners whether or not he is released and under what licence conditions for the next three years. "The courts take a severe attitude to assaults upon the most vulnerable members of our society namely children," said the judge adding that the assault Toner perpetrated "was outrageous". Toner, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm to the six-month-old baby boy in September 2009 and has been in custody since the offence. Prosecuting lawyer Kate McKay told the court that Toner admitted to twice grabbing the infant by its babygrow and throwing him four or five feet onto the sofa. On the first occasion the child's mother managed to catch him, but on the second he landed on the sofa and rolled off. Earlier last year the baby's mother was given a two-year probation term after pleading guilty to child cruelty by failing to seek medical attention for her son. Saturday, 14 January 2012

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Date:: 14 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:34:01

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John Hurt's brother in monastery here after UK child-abuse caution........ A Benedictine monk, who was given a police caution after a major investigation into allegations of child sex abuse at a famous Catholic boarding school in Britain, is now living in a monastery here under a restricted regime. Brother Anselm, who is a brother of film star John Hurt, is at Glenstal Abbey in Co Limerick but has been banned from having any contact with pupils there following the police investigation. The monk, whose real name is Michael Hurt, has even been ordered to end his involvement in a chess club for boarders. Aged 79, he is now retired and is allowed to live in restricted conditions at Glenstal Abbey under the terms of a contract that was approved by the gardai and the HSE. The allegation of sexual assault against Brother Anselm was said to have been "of a minor nature" and to have taken place in the late 1960s while he was teaching at the Downside school, near Bath in Somerset. Earlier this month, another former Downside teacher, Fr Richard White, was jailed for five years for gross indecency and indecent assault against a pupil in the late 1980s. The conviction followed an 18-month criminal investigation by officers from the Avon and Somerset Constabulary. Their inquiries are ongoing. A spokesman for the police told the Irish Independent yesterday that two other Downside monks received a caution, including Brother Anselm, who was not named. While a caution does not amount to a conviction, by accepting it, a person acknowledges the offence. The Avon police spokesman added: "We identified a number of offences by a number of offenders. There is no evidence that offenders were co-operating to victimise particular individuals". Brother Anselm left Downside in 1970 and became a layman. He later said that he had left the order partly because he was "in conflict with the Abbot and the school headmaster". He moved around England and spent many years in Liverpool, working in adult education, before moving to Ireland. In 1996, he decided that he wanted to rejoin the order and was taken into Glenstal Abbey in Murroe as a novice. The current headmaster at Glenstal, Brother Martin Browne, said last night that Glenstal operated totally independently of Downside and had not become aware until last February that an allegation had been made against Brother Anselm. He pointed out that Brother Anselm had no teaching role there and that his only contact with pupils had been through a chess club. That contact was immediately terminated when Glenstal became aware of the allegation, he added. The Glenstal authorities consulted with the gardai, the HSE and the National Board for Safeguarding Children and were informed that Brother Anselm had received a police caution. As a result of that caution, Brother Anselm was made subject to the notification requirements of the Sexual Offenders Act for two years. He was for some time in charge of the kitchens at the abbey and eventually decided to write a cookery book as a result of queries from guests for his recipes. It was published and included simple, humorous illustrations of monks at work and play. Brother Anselm's younger brother, John Hurt, became famous worldwide through his roles in films including 'The Elephant Man', 'Midnight Express' and 'A Man For All Seasons'. In the trial of Fr Richard White, who was jailed last week, it emerged that he had been allowed to continue teaching after he had first been caught abusing a child in 1987. He then went on to groom and assault another pupil in the junior school. White was then placed on a restricted ministry but was not arrested until last year. After White's conviction, Fr Aidan Bellenger, the abbot of Downside, wrote to former pupils and apologised for White's actions. By Tom Brady,Saturday January 14 2012

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Date:: 14 Jan 2012
Time:: 12:40:57

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Ruling later in former brother's appeal against abuse conviction..... The Court of Criminal Appeal has reserved judgment on an appeal by a former Marist brother and primary school teacher against his conviction for sexually abusing four boys at a school in Sligo more than 40 years ago. A central issue in the appeal related to the phenomenon of recovered memory of one complainant, who told the trial he had no recollection of the abuse for 25 years after it had taken place. It was only when he was approached by gardaí a third time and invited to discuss “life at school” that the memory of the abuse returned to him, he said. Christopher Cosgrove (67) was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment by Judge Patrick McCartan in May 2010 after a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court jury found him guilty on 35 counts of indecent assault of the boys at St John’s school on Temple Street. Cosgrove, Ballyhaunis Road, Claremorris, Co Mayo, had denied the offences which occurred at the school between July 1st, 1968, and June 30th, 1977. The trial was told Cosgrove would call the complainants up to a desk at the top of his classroom and fondle their private parts. He appealed his conviction on several grounds before the three-judge Court of Criminal Appeal. The appeal concluded after two days yesterday and Mr Justice Donal O’Donnell said judgment would be given later. Cosgrove’s lawyer argued that the trial judge had erred in principle by failing to withdraw the counts relating to a complainant from the jury and by failing to warn the jurors of the dangers of convicting on the phenomenon of recovered memory. There is considerable professional and scientific debate on the feasibility of recovering memories. Counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions argued the trial judge had not purported to make a decision on the concept of recovered memory and did not give it his “stamp of approval” and had warned the jury to be careful. Saturday, January 14, 2012

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Date:: 14 Jan 2012
Time:: 12:50:12

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School names police probe monks…... “Richard White, a paedophile monk who abused two boys at a Roman Catholic public school”……… Seven Roman Catholic monks with links to a top public school have faced police investigation over child sex and pornography offences, the school has admitted. In a letter to the parents of the 1,500 pupils at the £26,000-per-year Downside School in Somerset, Dom Aidan Bellenger, the Benedictine Abbot of Downside, apologised to parents and named some of the monks who were picked out by a criminal investigation looking at 50 years of confidential school records. Of the seven monks from Downside, he said four had faced police action and two, against whom allegations "were founded", had restrictions imposed on their ministry. The seventh was cleared and allowed to return to his monastic life. The school has already announced a "major review of the school's governance" that would result in "significant changes" after a monk and former teacher at the school, Richard White, was jailed for five years on January 3 for sexually abusing two 12-year-old boys in the late 1980s. His abuse was known about by monastic and school staff at the time but he evaded criminal charges for more than 20 years. "We are truly sorry that children and young people have been abused by those whom they should have been able to trust," Dom Bellenger wrote. "We are committed to doing everything possible to ensure that such things do not happen again. "We must never underestimate the great damage suffered by the victims of abuse. Their bravery in telling their stories has resulted in radical changes in the way safeguarding is approached. Victims of abuse are in our prayers and the sadness we feel for what they have suffered will be with us always. "These unhappy events inevitably cast a long shadow, but your chief concern will of course be the welfare, security and happiness of children currently at Downside. Many steps have been taken to ensure that the Downside portrayed in some parts of the media is a thing of the past." Saturday, January 14 2012

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Date:: 15 Jan 2012
Time:: 13:07:25

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John McCarthy’s love of life should be an inspiration to us all......... Years ago one of my best friends told me that "all people are mad, it’s just a question of degree". It has stuck with me ever since. What is "normal"? What is "mad"? Is one better or worse? Who decides? John McCarthy, who died this week at the age of just 61, as a result of motor neuron disease, brought the issue info focus for me many times in recent years. It was about five years ago when he first got in touch with a producer on The Last Word and persuaded my colleague that he would be a guest worth having on the programme. I was told that a self-declared madman wanted to come on the programme, to talk about his experiences, how they should be applied to others and how people with mental health issues should be treated by others in society. As it happened I was interested, if only because I had grown up on the Lee Road in Cork, in the shadow of the since long closed Our Lady’s Hospital, a psychiatric institution that as good as incarcerated many of its patients. Some, however, were given "day release" and would wander along the road daily. Some were in a near comatose state, clearly drugged before release, or possibly worse as a result of electro-convulsive treatments (ECT). Others were hyper-active, talking gibberish. Sometimes, unfortunately and very sadly, there were occasions when patients took themselves down to the riverbank and threw themselves into the river; with other people rarely present to rescue them they didn’t survive. I thought I recognised John McCarthy when he first arrived into our Dublin studio, not from the Lee Road, but from around the streets of Cork city. His appearance was distinctive. He had long grey hair, tied in a pony-tail. He bounced into the room. He was full of chat and passionate delivery. He described himself as mad. This was nothing to be ashamed of — he was proud of what he was. Hence the "Mad Pride" organisation he founded. McCarthy wanted to embrace life, not wallow in the misery and despair of it. He told me his story on air a number of times, although he preferred to emphasise the positives, the way he had come to regard his health as something to be celebrated rather than endured. I had to press him on how he had come to be regarded as mad (and two of the interviews that I conducted with him in the last year are available on the todayfm website and as podcasts that can be downloaded). His story was that he had lost his good mental health during his late 30s and early 40s when financial problems arising from his business undermined him, almost costing him his family’s home and his business. It was the loss of self-confidence that dragged him into depression and sucked the life out of him. "I lost control of my emotional self," he explained to me. "Life got too much for me and I broke down." He told me of the feelings of isolation and of loneliness, how he couldn’t face challenges and suffered panic attacks, even when it came to relatively mundane family issues. "I absolutely totally collapsed," he said. As far as he was concerned his depression was caused by anger, but he became very aggressive with it as he failed to cope with his situation. He lost his self-respect and was unwilling to accept the love his family offered or to listen to them. He was abusive and disrespectful, he said. "You can’t accept love because you don’t have a proper love for myself," he told me. "I never had self-respect. I worried about how others thought of me. I worried about the opinion of others." In another interview, the last I had with him, late last year, when he came into studio in his wheelchair, pushed by his son, to discuss his last campaign — to understand and combat loneliness — he remembered how when he was at his loneliest as a 19 year old in London, "going to my room after a day on the building sites and being on my own when surrounded by 8 million people". John’s points about the cause of his breakdown were interesting because he regarded his mental health as being a response to the life situations that he found himself in, rather than as the result of some kind of chemical imbalance in his brain. "Madness is a disease of the spirit, mind and soul (not of the brain). It cannot be cured with a pill," he said. And that was central to the campaign he waged in later years against the medicated response into which he felt he was forced, wrongly. He had nearly a decade on heavy medication that he felt made things even worse for him during that period. He claimed to have been "over-medicated, over-drugged to an enormous extent". As far as he was concerned it was all about making him "compliant", which he said was equated with being "cured". He told me how "I shuffled when I walked...you don’t wash or clean, you lose dignity. Your hands slump by your side..." He spoke of being left in a zombie state. As he described it the people of my childhood, as they walked up and down the Lee Road, came very much back to mind. He took himself off the drugs and suffered nine months of withdrawal. "These drugs are more addictive than heroin." John decided that he would face what he calls "the challenge of life", that he would embrace "the gift of madness". He decided that he was living through depression, not suffering from it. He decided to reconcile himself with the "normality" of his madness. "You have to be mad to live life because madness is about emotion," he said. Most importantly, he came to disregard his need to seek the approval of others. This led to an interesting situation. It put him into conflict with the medical profession, yet members of it were supportive of elements of what he tried to do, especially in trying to change the language used in public discourse about the condition. Once John took me to task for saying that he "suffered" from depression: he was living with it he said and I needed to change my language. Professor Harry Kennedy of the Central Mental Hospital praised John very much for his positive approach to challenging prejudice and stigma but they did disagree about the circumstances of the use of medication and the benefits it brought. This was something that I failed to tease out properly with John despite repeated attempts, the difference between what he saw as madness caused by depression about life and that which may be caused by chemical imbalances or illness, which he tended to dismiss. There would be seem to be plenty of evidence to suggest that some people do suffer because of issues beyond their control and that they can be a physical danger to themselves and to others: embracing the positives of life may not be a cure for them. Just because John always expressed his point of view passionately and with conviction does not mean he was always right, just as times when he bucked convention seemed to be correct. In the end John succumbed to a cruel illness. He embraced whatever medical help was available to him for that but nothing could be done once motor neuron disease embraced him. The last time John and I spoke he told me that death was coming at him "at a rate of knots." I asked him how he was coping with that knowledge. "In death I’ll miss life, I love life," he said, choking somewhat as he said. While that comment filled me with sadness it was also inspirational. A man who went through so much of the difficult part of life could still love it and value it, as should we all. By Matt Cooper,January, 2012

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Date:: 15 Jan 2012
Time:: 13:08:58

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Charges over sham marriages are a plot to silence me, claims rebel priest Pat Buckley...... Maverick cleric Pat Buckley has claimed that moves to prosecute him for allegedly conducting bogus marriages as part of a major immigration scam is an attempt to silence him. The former Catholic priest appeared in court yesterday along with 15 other people in relation to a widespread police probe into alleged sham marriages, money laundering and fraud. Fr Buckley, who is accused of conducting wedding ceremonies that have enabled foreign nationals to stay in the UK, said the decision to prosecute him was "an attempt by the establishment to silence a priest who has been the champion of the marginalised for 36 years". He insisted that he "never knowingly" celebrated a bogus marriage ceremony. The 49-year-old has been charged with conspiracy to defraud the Home Secretary by facilitating foreign nationals to gain entry to the UK on dates between January 2004 and September 2009. He remained in the public gallery at Laganside Magistrates Court yesterday along with the other defendants while the case was briefly mentioned before a district judge. Solicitors for several of the accused indicated that their clients would be applying for legal aid. The case was brought before the court following an extensive operation by officers from the PSNI's organised crime branch. Following the short hearing Fr Buckley told the Belfast Telegraph he never knowingly celebrated a sham marriage and said the prosecution against him was "reprehensible and dubious". "The decision by the PSNI and PPS to prosecute me is groundless and highly suspect and represents an attempt by the establishment to silence a priest who has been the champion of the marginalised for 36 years," he said. Fr Buckley added he will robustly defend the case and that "those responsible for the dubious prosecution will be held to account by all legal means". The other 15 defendants in the case, with addresses in Newry, Newtownards, Bangor and Dungannon, are charged with related offences including participating in sham marriages, conspiracy to defraud and acquiring criminal property. One of the defendants, Ho Ling Mo, is a Belfast-based solicitor. The 40 year-old is charged with conspiracy to defraud. The case was adjourned to February 7 for a date to be fixed for preliminary enquiry. Concern has been mounting recently over the number of bogus weddings being conducted across Northern Ireland. Last month the UK Border Agency revealed that immigration officials and police broke up 35 suspected sham marriages within the space of just six months last year. Of the 35 weddings disrupted, 42 people were arrested on suspicion of immigration offences. Some of these weddings have subsequently turned out to be genuine, but the border agency has said that all leads must be followed and investigated. Profile: Rebel priest Pat Buckley was sidelined by the Catholic Church in the mid-1980s when he pursued his own ministry for those who felt alienated by the traditional Church. He was excommunicated after he was made a bishop by another rebel, the Tridentine bishop Michael Cox. He proceeded to set up an independent ministry from his church house in Larne where he continues to conduct wedding ceremonies for those who cannot be married by the Catholic Church. Last March Bishop Buckley entered into a civil partnership with his Filipino boyfriend Eduardo Yango. By Deborah McAleese, January 2012

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Date:: 16 Jan 2012
Time:: 11:01:20

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Public decries closure of embassy to the Vatican..... Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore’s decision to close the Irish embassy to the Vatican was met with overwhelming opposition from the public with over 93% criticising the move. It was in stark contrast to the hugely supportive response to Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s blistering speech on the Cloyne Report. It suggests, while the public thought Mr Kenny’s denunciation of the Vatican in that speech was merited, the decision to close the embassy was not. Writing on the embassy closure, one member of the public claimed Mr Gilmore had a "raw hatred" of the Catholic Church and compared him to Oliver Cromwell. Another claimed the Government was using the clerical child sexual abuse scandals as "cover" to wage a "vendetta" against the Church. Several citizens questioned the economic rationale that Mr Gilmore put forward for closing the embassy, and said Ireland’s foreign policy efforts would ultimately suffer. Mr Gilmore, in his role as foreign affairs minister, announced the decision to close the embassy on November 3 last, citing the need to save money. He denied the move had anything to do with the fallout from the Cloyne Report in July, during which Mr Kenny had accused the Vatican of downplaying the rape and torture of children to protect its own primacy. But whereas Mr Kenny received widespread public support following that speech, Mr Gilmore received mostly criticism following the decision to close the embassy. The Irish Examiner sought to view, under the Freedom of Information Act, all letters and emails received by Mr Gilmore on the subject in the 12 days after the announcement of the decision. A total of 102 records were released, 95 of which criticised the decision to close the embassy and just seven of which were supportive. In percentage terms, that meant 93.1% of the responses were critical and 6.9% supportive. That was in contrast to the reaction Mr Kenny received after his July 20 speech, when 94.3% were supportive and just 5.7% were critical. By Paul O’Brien, Monday, January 16, 2012

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Date:: 16 Jan 2012
Time:: 11:02:35

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48,000 Christmas calls to ChildLine………….. ChildLine received almost 50,000 calls for help from children and young people in Northern Ireland during Christmas. Family relationships, bullying and depression remained the primary concerns of those who contacted the Belfast and Foyle centres. Esther Rantzen, president of ChildLine, said: "These figures clearly demonstrate how many distressed children depend on ChildLine, especially at times such as Christmas, which is often particularly difficult for vulnerable young people." She continued: "ChildLine is a vital lifeline for thousands of young people who desperately need support and advice on suicidal thoughts, self-harm, sexual abuse and mental illness." The number of contacts by telephone, email or online chat to ChildLine totalled 48,751 over the 12-day festive period from Christmas Eve and figures showed a 50% increase in the number of counselling contacts on Christmas Day compared with the previous year. One caller to ChildLine in Belfast said: "My brother is thinking of running away because we get hit by our parents. We get hit randomly - hitting a person for discipline is what my dad does. "I self-harmed tonight. I hurt myself and I am angry that the marks disappeared - I wanted the marks to stay." Across the UK, there was a dramatic increase in depression and mental health-related counselling, which increased by 103% compared with Christmas 2010. Counselling for self-harm and suicide also increased by 62% and 57% respectively. Visits to the ChildLine website increased by 57% last year. Monday, 16 January 2012

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Date:: 16 Jan 2012
Time:: 11:05:30

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Over 2,000 suspected child abuse cases in 2010........ There were more than 2,000 formal referrals between gardaí and the HSE in relation to child sex abuse during 2010, figures have revealed. Figures obtained by the Irish Examiner reveal the extent of suspected child sex abuse across the state, but very few cases get as far as the courts, and even fewer are successfully prosecuted. The Irish Examiner requested how many formal contacts there had been between the HSE and gardaí in relation to child sex abuse over the past number of years. Under child protection rules, the HSE must sent a notification form to local gardaí in the event of suspected child abuse. Astonishingly, in both Roscommon and Mayo, despite high-profile abuse cases in the west over the past few years, the HSE said "data was not collected" for these counties. Figures show there were 2,110 referrals of child sex abuse in 2010, and 2,187 during 2009. Most of these account for cases which were referred from the HSE to the gardaí as ordered by Children First guidelines. It is understood 95% of the figures relate to independent cases. However, the HSE South said it could not provide the data as requested as it would require the examination of too many records and instead provided the total number of referrals of child sex abuse received. Broken down by HSE region, the figures show that counties in the Dublin North East area (Louth, Meath, Cavan/Monaghan, Dublin North west, Dublin Central and North Dublin) have averaged upwards of 400 notifications a year between them since 2006. In 2009, this peaked at 290 points of contact. Dublin Mid-Leinster, which accounts for south county Dublin, Wicklow, Kildare, Laois/Offaly and Longford/Westmeath, reported 466 notifications in 2010 and 501 in 2009. In the HSE West and HSE South, notifications were much lower and it is not clear if this is partly down to the way data was collected, or if there was a much lower rate of suspected abuse because of lower populations. For example, in large counties with big urban areas such as Galway and Limerick, formal points of contact were surprisingly low. In Galway during 2010, there were 39 formal contacts between HSE and gardaí, and in Limerick, there were 60. In Roscommon, the HSE said data simply was not collected. For Mayo, the HSE stated while there was no system in place to record such data, this would be implemented in 2012. Figures from the DPP’s office, while not comparable year on year due to time taken for investigation by gardaí and consideration by the DPP, shows how few cases actually get to prosecution. In 2009, just 146 files were sent to the DPP by gardaí in relation to sexual offences where the alleged victim was under 18. There were just 15 convictions at the end of 2009 Dr Derek Deasy, the director of the St Clare’s sexual abuse assessment and therapy unit at Temple Street hospital, said his unit had 230 referrals for assessment last year from the Dublin area which it serves. Dr Deasy said the work carried out at the unit forms part of supplementary evidence for gardaí. However, he said only about 5% of cases they deal with get to court. "The DPP is under pressure only to take cases which it can win. There are times too when families don’t want to take a case to court and that is a problem too," he said. By Jennifer Hough, January, 2012

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Date:: 16 Jan 2012
Time:: 11:06:58

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Action on child poverty demanded....... Across Northern Ireland as a whole last year 17 percent of children were living in homes where parents are without work More than three quarters of the UK districts where child poverty levels are most acute are in Northern Ireland, a new report has revealed. Eleven of the 14 council wards with more than 60% of children living in families struggling to make ends meet are in Northern Ireland, according to a survey. The disturbing new statistics are linked to rising unemployment, according to the End Child Poverty (ECP) campaign, a coalition of child charities which includes Barnardo's. Across Northern Ireland as a whole last year 17% of children were living in homes where parents are without work, as opposed to 13% in 2008. The campaign has published a poverty map of Northern Ireland, examining the problem at council ward level, across complete council areas and at parliamentary constituency level. In regard to council areas, Londonderry (36%), Belfast (35%) and Strabane (31%) are those with highest poverty rates. Limavady (26%) and Newry and Mourne (25%) are next on the list. The UK average for council areas is 21%. Belfast West is ranked the fourth worst parliamentary constituency for child poverty, with 46%, the report said. Alison Garnham, executive director of the ECP campaign, said: "The Northern Ireland Assembly and Westminster Government must act urgently to prevent a rise in child poverty. Access to decent jobs for parents in Northern Ireland must be a priority and this means the public and private sector working together and investing for the future." Lynda Wilson, director of Barnardo's NI, said: "Behind today's statistics sit the most vulnerable children in society whose life chances risk being compromised by our failure to tackle child poverty effectively. The grim reality that many families face is of vicious cycles of debt and impossible choices between heating homes or cooking hot meals for their children. "The NI Assembly is currently developing a Child Poverty Strategy and Barnardo's would like to see an increased focus on improving literacy and numeracy standards and schemes to encourage employment as a route out of poverty and programmes of support for families with disabled children to enable parents to access and retain paid employment." Monday, 16 January 2012

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Date:: 17 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:48:29

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Cardinal's profit mission and an FBI investigation into sale of church property........ Rite and Reason: In 2005 parishioners of St James in the farm belt town of Kansas, Ohio, recoiled when Toledo Bishop Leonard Blair, facing a tight budget, closed the parish, steering them to one several miles away. They filed an appeal to the Vatican. It failed. Then they sued in a local county court, arguing that the bishop was a trustee but parishioners owned the property. The state sided with the bishop. “We spent $100,000 in legal fees,” said parishioner Virginia Hull. “Bishop Blair paid his lawyers with $77,957 from our parish account.” Blair had the church demolished. Canon law says a parish is “a juridic person”. But that “person”, like an olden slave, does not own itself. The bishop does. Nevertheless, a federal court in Springfield, Massachusetts barred the bishop there from razing a church deemed a historic landmark. Parish ownership is unresolved in American law. A US Catholic parish has closed on average once a week for the last 20 years. Many bishops have sold churches to plug deficits, or pay for abuse cases caused by their negligence or their predecessors’. The idea that each bishop stands in a lineage going back to Jesus’s disciples renders them immune from prosecution for recycling abuse predators or selling churches to cover mistakes. Since 2005 at least 95 parishes from 21 US dioceses have appealed to Vatican courts. At least 12 closures won partial reprieves in the Syracuse, Buffalo, and Allentown, Pennsylvania dioceses. The Apostolic Signatura (Vatican supreme court), in a split-the-baby ruling, decided that the protesting parishes were “sacred” property not to be sold, but would not restore them as active churches. Juridic “persons” slumber in the folds of legal farce. In July 2003 Boston’s then new archbishop Cardinal Seán O’Malley visited Rome seeking financial help to resolve 552 abuse cases. He met Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano and Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos, then in charge of the Congregation for the Clergy, which oversees the liquidation of diocesan assets. They gave O’Malley carte blanche to sell properties. In Boston, parish sit-ins ignited bad press and a deep slide in donations. Cardinal Sodano saw profit horizons. He installed an under-secretary at the Vatican who fed information on closing churches to a New York company, the Follieri Group. Its vice-president was Andrea Sodano, a building engineer in Italy and a nephew of the cardinal. The cardinal greeted potential investors at a New York launch party. The Follieri website promoted its ties to Vatican officials. Its business plan: find churches, buy low, sell high. When an investor sued Follieri for profligate spending, the FBI investigated. Follieri had wired $387,000 to the Vatican Bank account of a lay staffer in cahoots with Andrea Sodano. Cardinal Sodano’s nephew’s invoices netted more than $800,000 for work the FBI deemed worthless. Raffaello Follieri today is in prison for fraud and money laundering. Nepotism, from the Italian “nipote”, means nephew. The FBI considers Andrea Sodano, the Vatican under-secretary and a lay staffer there to be “unindicted co-conspirators”. It helps to have an uncle in robes. Pope Benedict should empanel constitutional scholars to create a court system for criminal issues and church property. But first, he should sack Cardinal Sodano – now Dean of the College of Cardinals and who will oversee the election of the next Pope. It would give some sign of papal belief that St Augustine was correct justice is a virtue. By Jason Berry, Tuesday, January 17, 2012

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Date:: 17 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:49:42

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Gay cleric Jeffrey John may take legal action against Church of England...... A friend of a gay cleric who is understood to have threatened to take the Church of England to court say he has been badly treated by his employer. Dean of St Albans Jeffrey John, who is from Tonyrefail in south Wales, has twice missed out on becoming a bishop. Reports suggest he is threatening to sue the church for discrimination. Retired south Wales priest Martin Reynolds supports him, but legal action has been criticised by opponents. The church declined to comment. In 2003, Dr John was forced to step down from becoming Bishop of Reading because of his sexuality after protests from traditionalists. He was also a candidate for Bishop of Southwark in 2010 but was rejected. Evidence emerged that this was because of his sexual orientation. Mr Reynolds said Dr John, who is a friend, had been badly treated by the Church of England. "My view is that his own attempt to get to the bottom of this matter completely failed," he said. "He was left with no other alternative to find the truth than to use legal proceedings." Mr Reynolds, who lives in Newport and is an adviser to the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, said Dr John had never criticised the church publicly and had never complained about the issue to the press. Last year the Church of England reviewed its policy towards same-sex relationships and considered allowing gay clergy to be ordained as bishops. Legal advice published by the church said there was no bar to gay clergy becoming bishops as long as they were not sexually active and never had been while in the priesthood. The move was in response to the Equality Act, which protects from discrimination on the grounds of sexuality. But the Reverend George Pitcher wrote in a column in the Daily Mail that Dr John's threat of legal action "threatens, in his impatience and ill temper, to put back the cause of homosexuals in the church by a couple of decades, maybe more". "Dr John's putative litigation smacks of naked ambition dressed up as equality campaigning," he wrote. He added: "His cause isn't served by taking the Church of England to court and polarising Anglican prejudices again. "And he might acknowledge that bishops are appointed on their merits too. "That won't change, though the bar on those in an openly gay relationship surely will." The conflict over homosexuality and the ordination of gay clergy has been controversial within the Anglican church for years, with critics saying it may cause a similar breakaway to that in the US Episcopal Church. Tuesday, 17 January 2012

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Date:: 17 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:53:40

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State could face €4m legal bill in case of former Judge Curtin......... The cost to the State of impeachment proceedings initiated against former judge Brian Curtin could reach up to €4 million, a Dáil committee was told yesterday. Kieran Coughlan, secretary general of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission, told the public accounts committee that more than €1 million had already been paid “in damages”, a further €1 million was spent on the State’s own legal costs and the judge’s legal team had sought additional fees of almost €2 million for co-operating with an investigation set up by the Dáil. In 2004, a motion to impeach Judge Curtin was launched in the Dáil, following his acquittal on charges of possession of child pornography, after it emerged a warrant was defective. The Dáil established a joint committee to hold an inquiry into the matter. Its right to do so was upheld by the Supreme Court after the judge challenged it. Although Judge Curtin lost his case, he was entitled to his costs, as is usual in a constitutional challenge. When Judge Curtin retired voluntarily a short time before he was due to appear before the committee, the impeachment process was abandoned. However, his legal team, Co Kerry solicitor Pierse Fitzgibbon,former attorney general John Rogers SC, Paul Burns SC, and barrister Cian Ferriter still sought costs for their co-operation with the inquiry. Solicitors’ fees of almost €1.2 million were claimed, Mr Rogers sought just over €300,000, Mr Burns sought almost €270,000, and Mr Ferriter sought more than €150,000. Additional general expenses of more than €17,000 included €11,750 for solicitors’ overnight accommodation. By Fiona Gartland, January, 2012

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Date:: 18 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:09:40

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COURAGEOUS MARY ALWAYS SEARCHED FOR TRUTH.......... Heroic: Mary Raftery......... I was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Mary Raftery on Tuesday last. I had heard she was ill, but had no idea it was so serious. If we are shocked, then imagine what it's like for her family, especially her young son. So to them, I offer my deepest sympathy. There is another group who will feel vulnerable after Mary's sad departing -- and they are the thousands of people who suffered abuse in their own homes, in institutions and, most significantly, on Church premises. Mary dedicated her life to defending the vulnerable and exposing evil and was therefore an heroic journalist. She devoted the latter part of her life to the ruthless pursuit of truth. The more truth she uncovered, the more hostility she received from those who should have known better. But the vulnerable, the abused, the weak and those locked in institutions because they were different, know that, were it not for Mary's tenacious work, their stories would never have been told. There are more stories still to be told, but the first one was the most difficult. Without Mary Raftery's skilful and incisive journalism, Ireland as a society, and the Catholic Church in particular, would still be founded on hypocrisy. Thanks to her work, the rottenness of untouchable institutions was laid bare. In recent articles I noticed that she was beginning to deal with a new theme. She was questioning the very roots of Irish Society. Why is it that people who were different, had to be locked away in cruel institutions. It was Mary who revealed that Ireland is the world's leader in locking away people perceived to have mental disabilities, in institutions. Why is it, that in Irish society, the only way difference could be dealt with, was by imprisonment? Mary Raftery's legacy is that she asked that most searching questions. Will there be journalists like her to carry on investigating? Wednesday, 18 January 2012

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Date:: 18 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:40:01

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Cleric weighs into Church of Ireland gay debate..... A lesbian couple in the US have told the Church of Ireland that there are more important issues it should be concerned about than same-sex relationships. Writing in a supplement for the Church's magazine, Rev Jan Nunley and her partner Susan Erdey argue that no-one would question their relationship if one of them was male. The Episcopalian couple - who have been together for 22 years - wrote: "We confess to some impatience with the fact that for two adults of the same gender to bond and celebrate a lifelong commitment remains controversial, even shocking, in some quarters. "Ours is a marriage every bit as spiritually rich, full, holy and deeply Christian as any opposite-gender marriage we know, and more than many." The couple also argue that there are better ways of serving God than "critiquing and condemning the shared lives of two middle-aged American women of faith on the grounds of isolated Bible verses dubiously parsed". The Church of Ireland Gazette's special supplement on same-sex relationships intends to inform debate on the issue as it prepares for a conference on human sexuality next month and a crucial General Synod debate in May. Gazette editor Canon Ian Ellis said: "The supplement is intended as a contribution to the wider discussion on same-sex relationships. It is a difficult debate, as our extensive letter correspondence has shown, but it is one that simply must take place. There has to be a mutual understanding." It also contains an article by an abstaining gay male who is a member of the Church of Ireland, and conservative Anglican Rev Melanie Lacy. "Scripture... consistently condemns homosexual acts (as distinct from a homosexual orientation) and same-sex relationships," wrote Rev Lacy. Background: Controversy arose last year when Church of Ireland Dean of Leighlin, the Very Revd Tom Gordon, originally from Portadown, entered into a civil partnership with his long-term male companion. The House of Bishops later held a special retreat at an undisclosed venue in October, and announced that there would be a conference on the issue early in 2012. By Alf McCreary, Wednesday, 18 January 2012

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Date:: 18 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:44:10

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Jail term of child abuse priest is cut........ A Catholic priest jailed for sexually abusing three young girls more than 40 years ago is set to be freed after partially winning his appeal against conviction. Senior judges have overturned three of 11 counts of indecent assault Father Eugene Lewis was found guilty of committing. A four-year prison sentence imposed on the 77-year-old in September 2010 was also reduced to two years and nine months. With his time behind bars now served, preparations were being made for his release. Reasons for the decision by the Court of Appeal in Belfast will be given at a later date. The abuse was carried out by Lewis in Co Fermanagh between 1963 and 1973, beginning when the girls were aged as young as seven. Wednesday, 18 January 2012

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Date:: 18 Jan 2012
Time:: 14:34:07

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Call to name and shame convicted sex offenders as killer returns home to Cork..... The director of the Cork Rape Crisis Centre has called on convicted sex offenders to be "named and shamed" in local communities, as fear grows in Cork about the return to the city of a known killer and attempted rapist. Mary Crilly was speaking after it emerged Conor Downey, who was convicted of killing and chopping up his former girlfriend at their London flat in 1988, is back living in Douglas, Cork. Only Suzanne Reddan’s limbs were ever recovered and her torso has never been found. Downey was jailed in 1993 for his girlfriend’s manslaughter and served just three years in prison before returning to Ireland from Britain. He was then imprisoned in 2004 for a 1988 attack on a Cork nurse. He broke into her house, attempted to rape her and beat her as she lay asleep. At the subsequent trial, gardaí said the victim was so badly beaten they "thought she was wearing a Halloween mask". Downey has also been convicted for assaulting a doctor with a knife who was attempting to take bloods from him. He was jailed for 12 years for the attack on the nurse but was released recently with remission. Ms Crilly said: "With the release of this man, there is renewed calls for these people to be named and shamed to the community. "There are sex offenders living in every community and we don’t know who they are, especially those convicted of child abuse. I believe they should be named and shamed. I’m more into child protection you see, rather than offender protection." However gardaí, while refusing to comment on this case, said they comprehensively manage risk in the community. "We want to reassure the community that our clear focus at all times is the safety of all individuals in the community. An Garda Síochána has a comprehensive approach to the management of convicted sex offenders which involves both the national Sex Offenders Management and Intelligence Unit and the work of nominated Inspectors in every division in the country. This includes a plan to manage any risks posed by the offenders," a spokesman said. However, Ms Crilly said: "Women are rightly terrified about men that have a track record of violence towards women. Why is it that sex offenders have their identity protected? "You can kick in somebody’s front door or murder someone and you don’t have that entitlement. It’s supposed to be about protecting people. "Often these people are so cunning and charming that people should be aware of what they are really like," she said. By Claire O’Sullivan, Wednesday, January 18, 2012

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Date:: 19 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:57:34

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Rethink urged of abuse reporting laws………. The Government should reconsider planned laws compelling people to report to gardaí instances of child sex abuse, according to an Oireachtas committee. In a report, the justice committee suggests that Justice Minister Alan Shatter should consider making people report to the HSE instead. Committee chairman David Stanton said mandatory reporting of child sex abuse was not a "black and white" issue. The Fine Gael TD said it was "extremely complex and difficult" to draft legislation on this area. He said the Criminal Justice (Withholding Information on Crimes Against Children and Vulnerable Adults) Bill 2011 needed "to strike a balance" between the confidentiality of the victim and the current risk to children or vulnerable adults. Under a general scheme of the bill — the initial stage of the proposed law — a person who knows that sexual abuse has been committed against a child or vulnerable adult will be guilty of an offence if he or she fails, without "reasonable excuse", to disclose that information to gardaí. Mr Stanton, flanked by members of the committee, yesterday published its report into hearings it held on the draft bill. The committee held public hearings with the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland, the CARI Foundation (which works with child victims of sexual abuse) and One in Four (which works with adults victims of sexual abuse). It also received submissions from Barnardos, ISPCC and Swim Ireland. While all the groups generally supported the bill, there were differences on provisions, particularly over whether there should be an absolute requirement to report or whether it should be limited to protect either the victim and/or the person reporting. Mr Stanton said that concerns had been raised by some support groups at the prospect of being obliged to report allegations to gardaí regardless of the victims’ wishes. RCNI and One in Four were also concerned at the impact on victims if they knew the person to whom they were disclosing the abuse was legally obliged to inform gardaí. RCNI was also concerned at the implications for staff. However, Barnardos and the ISPCC were particularly concerned at attempts to limit mandatory reporting. Mr Stanton said this was just the initial stage of the legislative process and that the forthcoming bill would have to be far clearer and more extensive, including a detailed list of what would constitute a reasonable excuse. Kate Hills of Swim Ireland, which has 5,000 adult volunteers, said the legislation had to be "understandable" to volunteers and that definitions needed to be clear. * Contact: National 24-hour rape helpline: 1800 778888; One in Four: 01 6624070; Childline: 1800 666 666… By Cormac O’Keeffe, Thursday, January 19, 2012

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Date:: 19 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:59:00

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Adoption probe: Eleven Irish couples being quizzed in Mexico about child trafficking..... Eleven Irish couples are being questioned by police in Mexico investigating alleged child trafficking. An official said four of the 10 children seized during the investigation involving Irish couples in western Mexico showed signs of sexual abuse. Jalisco state attorney general Tomas Coronado said the children were examined by doctors, but offered no other details. "There are four children who show signs of having been abused (sexually), perhaps not in a violent way but there are signs (of abuse)," Mr Coronado told reporters. He said at least 11 Irish couples were involved in the case. Fifteen Irish citizens have already talked to authorities, said Lino Gonzalez, a spokesman for Jalisco state prosecutors. The foreign couples were giving 1,200 pesos (€140) a week to the mothers since pregnancy, and paying for their medical attention, officials said. Later the Mexican mothers would also be paid for allowing the children to stay with the couples while the purported adoption process proceeded, Mr Coronado said. "The great majority of the people from Ireland who have given their testimony have said they thought it was part of the adoption protocol in the state to be paying and that obviously means (someone was making) a profit throughout the adoption process," he said. Investigators are trying to determine if the Irish couples "acted in bad faith", Mr Coronado said, or were being tricked. The Irish embassy in Mexico said it was providing consular advice to the couples involved. Thursday January 19 2012

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Date:: 19 Jan 2012
Time:: 11:00:06

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Girl, 14, hopes her sex abuser stepfather ‘rots in hell’......... The stepdaughter of a man jailed for six years for having sex with her when she was 12 has said that she "hopes he rots in hell". The now 14-year-old girl said her "life and family’s life has been torn apart" and "today made me realise I was only a child when he raped me". She said she slit her wrists because of the abuse. James Rossiter, aged 36, of Parkview, Harold’s Cross, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two counts of defilement of the girl on December 27, 2009, and January 2, 2010, at his apartment. Tara Burns BL, prosecuting told Judge Martin Nolan "that the girl doesn’t wish the case to be held in camera, she wants it held in open court", in order for Rossiter to be named in the media. Counsel asked, however, that the girl not be named in any reports of the case. Garda Eithne O’Flynn told Ms Burns that Rossiter was married to, but separated from, the girl’s mother and lived in an apartment in Harold’s Cross. Leading up to Christmas of 2009 the girl’s mother and the accused agreed the girl and her brother could stay at his apartment between December 26, 2009, to January 2, 2010. The three slept in the one bed and while the girl was watching television on December 27, Rossiter started to rub the lower end of her back. She told him a number of times to stop, but it resulted in them both kissing. Sexual intercourse then took place. Similar incidents occurred numerous times on January 2, 2010, while the girl was still in his apartment. The girl and her step-father later had an argument and he threatened to tell her mother they had sex. "The girl took matters into her own hands and sent her mother a text to say she and her stepfather had sex," explained Gda O’Flynn. Gardaí were called and Rossiter, who has 12 previous convictions, made admissions, but claimed his stepdaughter had instigated the sexual intercourse. Rossiter is a former head chef at An Post and Heuston Train Station and has a history of abusing cocaine, defence counsel, Paul McDermott SC, said. "He acknowledges his behaviour was wrong and he is aware of the impact and regrets the harm he caused," said Mr McDermott. Victim impact: In her victim impact statement, the girl said she was mad with herself that she had lost her virginity to her step-father. "I felt dirty and the best way for me to deal with it was to kill myself, so I slit my wrists in front of my mother. I didn’t feel any better after that but I didn’t try to do it again. "I kept everything in and didn’t speak to anyone about it." The girl said the incidents tore her family apart. "I blamed myself as I felt I could have stopped it. I hope the scumbag sitting behind me dies and rots in hell. I hope we have a better life and he doesn’t." By Nicola Donnelly, Thursday, January 19, 2012

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Date:: 19 Jan 2012
Time:: 11:01:16

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Kent mother jailed for leaving child home alone....... “Natalie Terry admitted leaving her child alone for almost five days” A Kent mother who left her six-year-old child at home alone for almost five days has been jailed for 18 months. Natalie Terry, 28, previously of Willow Road, Dartford, pleaded guilty to one count of child neglect and one count of failing to surrender to police. Maidstone Crown Court heard how the child eventually sought refuge from a next-door neighbour after becoming cold and hungry. Police said the child had been living in "appalling conditions". 'Protect children' When officers entered Terry's home in November 2010, they discovered animal faeces on the floor. Det Con Fleur Hardie from Kent Police said: "Children deserve to grow up in a loving environment where they are protected from harm, not subjected to it. "I am pleased with this sentence, which shows that we will do everything in our power to bring such offenders to justice and work with social services to protect children." Thursday 19 January 2012

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Date:: 19 Jan 2012
Time:: 11:02:17

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Former priest charged with abusing 18 children..... A former priest is to stand trial on 55 counts of indecent assault of 18 children at various locations in the State from the late 1960s until the early 1980s. The defendant, who is in his seventies, was brought before Dublin District Court yesterday evening. The judge ordered the media not to name him or report the location of the alleged offences in case that would identify the complainants. The man was arrested yesterday afternoon at Dublin Airport, the court heard. He was cautioned and said "No" when arrested on 55 warrants. There was no application for bail. Judge Miriam Malone remanded him in custody to appear again at Cloverhill District Court on January 25. She directed a medical examination of the accused in custody and granted legal aid. However, she also stipulated that he would also have to furnish the court and gardai with a statement of his means. By Tom Tuite, Thursday January 19 2012

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Date:: 19 Jan 2012
Time:: 11:03:18

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Vatican embassy 'must still be closed'......... Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore last night ruled out any change to the decision to close down the Irish Embassy to the Vatican, despite an escalation of the campaign against the move. Some 50 TDs, 25 senators and seven representatives of ministers met yesterday with a lobby group seeking to reverse the decision. Mr Gilmore, as Foreign Affairs Minister, is closing a number of embassies to cut costs. There is already an Embassy in Rome, which covers Italy. A spokesman for Mr Gilmore said there were "no plans" to reverse the decision to close the Irish Embassy to the Holy See. "As the Tanaiste said in response to a public statement by Cardinal Brady at the time, he would have preferred if Ireland could have maintained an Ambassador to the Holy See; however, given the economic situation and the Department's very tight budget, it was one of those regrettable decisions that had to be taken," he said. By Fionnan Sheahan, Thursday, January 19 2012

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Date:: 20 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:57:18

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Ireland, the Commission and the Holy See..... A very impressive total of 75 TDs and Senators met with the Ireland Stand Up group yesterday which is campaigning in favour of the reopening of the Irish embassy to the Holy See. Most people don't believe the Government's claim that the embassy was closed for financial reasons. Most people believe it was closed for political reasons and chiefly because of the row between the Government and the Holy See, in which the Government was really the only combatant. Central to the Government's case against the Holy See was the accusation that it had refused to cooperate with the Murphy Commission which was investigating abuse in the Dublin archdiocese. That claim, while highly explosive was also highy dubious. The Vatican didn't refuse to cooperate. In fact, it offered to give the Commission the required information so long as it went through Government channels. On this point, an article in The Sunday Business Post last year attracted much less attention than it deserved. That paper, via a Freedom of Information request, obtained from the Department of Foreign Affairs legal advice it received on the subject of whether or not the Holy See was entitled under international law to make such a request. The response was that the Vatican was indeed entitled to make such a request. The Murphy Commission maintained that it was independent of the State and so should not have to act through the State. On this point the DFA's legal adviser, James Kingston, said in his letter, the "independence of the commission under Irish law did not appear to be of relevance as a matter of international law, according to which dealings between states should be conducted via diplomatic channels." It continued: "The fact that the commission is independent under Irish law should not necessarily be a barrier to communications through the diplomatic channel". Indeed, courts are also independent of the State even though they are established by the State (as was the Murphy Commission), but when they write to a foreign court for information they always go through the respective governments rather than write directly. So the question arises, if the information requested by the Murphy Commission was on offer, why didn't the Commission accept the offer? The Vatican can be accused of being pedantic for asking that the commission use the proper channels, but equally it could be asked whether the commission was being stubborn in refusing to use those channels? At a minimum, though, the accusation that the Vatican refused to cooperate with the commission is unjustified and should never have been part of the Enda Kenny speech last summer. By David Quinn, Thursday, 19/01/2012

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Date:: 20 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:58:35

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'Religious ethos has no place in schools' – Labour…….. Church sources claim 'bullying' and 'intimidation' by Labour……. 'Religious ethos' has no place in Irish schools according to the Labour Party's spokesman on education. Aodhán Ó Ríordáin TD, vice-chair of the Oireachtas education committee, told The Irish Catholic ''that religious ethos has no place in the educational system of a modern republic''. His comments come as senior Church sources have accused the Labour Party of ''bullying'' Catholic schools by falsely accusing them of breaking the law over enrolment policies that admit Catholic children ahead of other children if the school is over-subscribed. The accusation comes in a Labour Party document circulated to Catholic schools. The document -- known within the Labour Party as the 'Clontarf Report' -- insists that the schools are acting illegally when they give preference to Catholic children in the event of demand for places outstripping availability. However, one senior Church source said ''there isn't anyone working in the legal profession who would take such a claim seriously. This is nothing more than bullying''. ''The Department [of Education and Skills] fully acknowledges that faith-based schools have a right to admit children of their own faith before those of others where the local faith-based school is over-subscribed,'' the source said. Deputy Ó Ríordáin, a former principal in a Catholic school, confirmed that he is supportive of the 'Clontarf' position yet, while accusing Catholic schools of breaking the law, the deputy also calls for the existing law to be changed, saying: ''I would like to see the law amended so that faith-based schools would be unable to reserve places for children of a particular denomination where a school is over-subscribed. ''I see no reason for to give a faith-based school any protection'' to ensure that it can fulfil its mission to provide a faith-based education in line with the denominational ethos of the school by way of an admissions policy, he said. Dr John Murray of Mater Dei Institute of Education said the Labour move amounted to an attempt to ''intimidate'' the schools. He said: ''I hope this isn't indicative of the attitude of the wider Labour Party to denominational schools because if it is, it is deeply worrying and needs to be strongly resisted. ''It is nothing less than an attack on the religious freedom of denominational schools,'' he said. Dr Murray insisted that such a push would not just affect Catholic schools. ''A curb on the enrolment policy of denominational schools would hit Church of Ireland schools particularly hard because Church of Ireland children are often a small minority in their own communities and if their schools couldn't admit Church of Ireland children first, then they would face the prospect of having to turn away the very children they were established to serve,'' he said. Mr Ó Ríordáin's trenchant views will surprise many coming just months after Education Minister and Mr Ó Ríordáin's party colleague Ruairí Quinn told a conference in Dublin's Mater Dei Institute that ''religious education will have an important place in the future of education in Ireland''. Mr Quinn has also insisted that denominational schools will continue to be supported by the Government, apparently putting him at odds with Mr Ó Ríordáin. ''It begs the question: 'what does the Labour Party really have in store for Catholic education','' another senior Church source said. ''Is it Mr Quinn or Mr Ó Ríordáin who is articulating where the party is coming from? Catholic voters have a right to know,'' he said. A recent profile of Mr Ó Ríordáin by The Irish Times education editor Seán Flynn said the Dublin North Central deputy ''is viewed as a future education minister''. It noted that he has been a ''major influence'' on Minister Quinn. By Michael Kelly,Thursday 19 Jan 2012

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Date:: 21 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:52:23

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Paedophile David Morrison jailed for raping 14-month-old girl……… “Morrison will be monitored for the rest of his life”………… A man who raped a 14-month-old girl and posted the images on the internet has been jailed for four years. David Morrison, 45, from Grangemouth, was also told that he would be monitored for the rest of his life. Judge Lord Bonomy imposed a lifelong restriction order, which means Morrison will be detained until he no longer poses a threat to the public. The alarm was raised after Morrison admitted to a friend he fantasised about sex with children. He was caught by an international investigation led by Central Scotland Police, which built up evidence that Morrison had raped the child through online chat logs, photographs and expert analysis of veins on his hands. Lord Bonomy told Morrison: "You have committed unspeakable and incomprehensible acts of depravity towards a child and even invited like-minded paedophiles to share your experience by photographing and transmitting the evidence." The judge said Morrison had also indulged in the sharing of images of anonymous abuse of other young children for his own sexual satisfaction. He told the paedophile that he was obsessed with himself and had indulged his "own deviant fantasies". Police have revealed the investigation into Morrison led to 15 other paedophiles in Britain being caught and a further 75 worldwide in 24 countries, including the US, Canada and Sweden. Senior investigating officer Det Ch Insp Barry Blair said: "I think it is important to realise David Morrison is clearly one of the most dangerous sexual predators we have had to investigate and we think that is reflected in the sentence today. "We are pleased he will remain behind bars until he is deemed to be no longer a threat to the public," he said. During the operation detectives brought in a human identification expert - Professor Sue Black from Dundee University - who was able to link an image recovered from a computer to him through the veins on his hand. Morrison was found to have amassed a total of 13,141 still images and 166 videos of child sex abuse, with some of the material at the most extreme level…… 'Personality disorder' …………. Officers turned up at his home in December 2010 after concerns were raised about his behaviour. They found a computer connected to the internet downloading files from a website containing indecent images of children while he was not there. They began seizing computer equipment and during the investigation - dubbed Operation Malta - discovered he had distributed images to 52 email addresses around the world. Defence counsel Derick Nelson said a report on Morrison revealed he was suffering from "several personality disorders" and was assessed as falling into the category of high risk. He added: "He realises he still does need help." Morrison earlier admitted abusing and raping the child at a house in Grangemouth and possessing and distributing indecent photos of children in 2009 and 2010. Lord Bonomy told Morrison: "I recognise that you were subjected to abuse, both mental and physical, in your early years which were spent in very deprived circumstances." He said flaws in his character had been allowed to blossom resulting in a history of irresponsibility and criminal behaviour. Morrison was placed on the sex offenders register. We are pleased he will remain behind bars until he is deemed to be no longer a threat to the public” said Det Chief Inspector Barry Blair Central Scotland Police. Saturday, 21 January 2012

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Date:: 21 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:56:09

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Organised gangs preying on Coventry children, charity claims........ Children as young as 12 in Coventry are being groomed and sexually exploited by organised gangs, according to a charity. At the Children’s Society in Coventry staff at its new Streetwise project currently know of more than 21 young girls and boys who have fallen victim to sexual exploitation within the city. Working with young people aged between 12 and 16, the staff are now visiting schools, children’s centres and care homes to raise awareness of the alarming issue and warn teenagers about the dangers. They say older men are befriending children - before luring them to parties and introducing them to other men. Project manager Jenny Mahimbo said their biggest challenge was to educate people about the danger signs. She says some youngsters are being groomed and ‘‘trafficked’’ around the city between men. She said: “A lot of people think trafficking only happens abroad but what many people don’t realise is that internal trafficking is happening within the UK and these young people could just be moved to the next street, or even another part of the city. “People don’t understand it can happen within a city and not necessarily just in London. "It is happening here in Coventry.” Jenny and her three staff are the only specialised child sexual exploitation team in Coventry and in recent months have been called upon for help and information from social services, the city council and police. Problems with sexual exploitation in the city were highlighted to them while working with runaways in the city over three years. Jenny added: “While we were working with these young people, we realised the majority were girls as young as 12 with much older boyfriends. "We started to get a bit worried about some of the things we were hearing and started mapping out what was happening. “The girls told us about gifts they got from their boyfriends and the late night parties in hotel rooms where they would drink and take drugs and have sex with other men and I felt we needed to do something more specific about it. “Part of the problem is the young people don’t realise they are being groomed. "They think they have an older boyfriend who is giving them gifts and buying them alcohol and drugs because they love them and they don’t often tell us they are having sex with them until much later. “A lot of the time the parents don’t know what is happening either. "They think it is just a child running away all the time and don’t necessarily link it to sexual exploitation or grooming.” Based at the St Peter’s Centre in Charles Street, Hillfields, the Children’s Society mainly works with children who have come from troubled backgrounds where there is a history of domestic violence, family conflict, substance misuse or mental illness. Project worker, Beth Handyside, said: “We know this is happening in Coventry and I think sometimes people are quick to say that things like that don’t happen here, but it does. “We speak to young people from every corner of Coventry and from every walk of life. "They come from low income families, well off families, good backgrounds, bad backgrounds, it can happen to any child.” The growing popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter and websites like YouTube have not helped their case either. Jenny added: “These sites have a huge effect on how easy it is for young people to be targeted and groomed. "They often put up seductive videos or photos of themselves without realising the consequences, and sometimes these older boyfriends post inappropriate videos and photos too which creates problems for us.” While Jenny and her small team continue to work with these young children and tackle the issues in Coventry, they are keen to get their message out and warn parents, grandparents, carers and teachers about the signs to look out for and where to go for help. Anyone who suspects a child they know is being sexually exploited can call the Streetwise team on 024 7652 0111. The case study: Judy, aged 13, began working with the Streetwise team following repeated incidents of running away from home. She looked much older than 13 and takes meticulous care over her appearance. She was sexually active with a man in his 20s who she considered to be her boyfriend. He had previous convictions for sexual offences. One day the team received a call from her mum to say she had been raped. She had gone missing over a weekend and had been found by police in Birmingham with two other girls who were also missing from home. They had been driven to Birmingham with four men in their 20s and Judy had been raped in a park. She later withdrew the allegation and refused to cooperate with police enquiries claiming that everything was consensual. Streetwise was the only agency that had managed to communicate with Judy. The project felt that Judy’s mum didn’t fully understand the risk she was under or the nature of grooming behaviour. Project workers had some sessions with Judy’s mum about the nature of sexual exploitation and grooming, so that she would be able to understand the risk to her daughter. Beth, 14, was referred to Streetwise after incidents of running away from home and complaints she was being bullied at school. She said she had an older boyfriend, aged 29, who was part of a group of men who hired hotel rooms for parties with groups of girls. They had vodka and drugs and Beth said she had been to several of these parties with her boyfriend and different older men and her boyfriend. Beth said she was introduced to her boyfriend by an older young woman and he had given her money and a mobile phone to keep in touch with her. The project continues to work with her to explain what sexual exploitation and grooming is and the risks involved. Hayley, 13, was a persistent runaway. She would spend a night at her friend’s house without her mum’s permission and there were concerns she was in a relationship with a man in his 20s. Hayley was a challenging young person and proved hard to engage with Streetwise project workers. She presented herself as an over-confident young person and did not agree that she was actually going missing, nor was she aware of the risks of staying out without her parents knowing. Support continued but life for Hayley became more and more chaotic and she was eventually placed into care and moved out of the county. The project kept in touch with her throughout her time outside of the county and eventually she asked to come back home, which was a big step for her in accepting things needed changing. By Sandish Shoker, January 2012

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Date:: 21 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:58:43

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Lord's fury over child killer Robert Black's £5k private jet flight......... Questions over why £5,000 was spent hiring a private jet to fly serial child killer Robert Black from England to Northern Ireland for trial are to be pursued in the House of Lords. The notorious paedophile was flown to Northern Ireland by private plane last October to stand trial for the murder of Ballinderry schoolgirl Jennifer Cardy. A total of £5,675 was paid for a one-way trip. This expenditure was on top of a £350,000 legal aid bill for Black's failed defence case. Lord Morrow has vowed to raise the expenditure issue in the House of Lords where he says he will demand a full explanation for why use of a private jet was sanctioned to transport the evil killer. Black was serving life sentences in an English jail for the murder of three young girls in Scotland and England in the 1980s when he was charged with the murder of nine-year-old Jennifer, who went missing on her way to a friend's house in 1981. Black was found guilty in October last year of Jennifer's murder and ordered to serve at least 25 years in prison. Lord Morrow said it was "unnecessary and extortionate" for Black to receive "Rolls-Royce treatment". Justice Minister David Ford previously told Stormont no other prisoner has been transferred to the province by private jet and that the normal way to transfer prisoners from other jurisdictions is by standard plane or ferry. "Coupled with a £350,000 legal aid bill, which is set to climb further when the various counsel submit their full accounts, I am utterly appalled at the overt expenditure," said Lord Morrow. The DUP MLA added: "The legal aid fund and the defence of criminals should not be used as an open cheque-book under the guise of human rights legislation." Background: Scottish serial killer Robert Black (right) was already serving life sentences for the murders of three young girls aged between five and 11 years in the 1980s when he was convicted last year of murdering Ballinderry schoolgirl Jennifer Cardy. By Deborah McAleese, January 2012

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Date:: 22 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:38:38

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Heartbreak over failed adoptions in Mexico….. Irish couples home without babies….. Eleven Irish couples returned to Ireland this weekend after a nightmare week in Mexico, heartbroken and shaken by a disturbing ordeal. Aged in their 30s and 40s, they were all childless and shared a common aspiration: to adopt a baby from the Latin American country. Instead, they became caught up in an extraordinary investigation into illegal adoptions in a country that has spawned numerous baby-trafficking scandals. The plight of these couples -- some of whom spent days bonding with babies that they hoped to bring home to Ireland -- is bad enough. Worse still is the alarming trade in babies in which they unwittingly became embroiled, with local reports that impoverished pregnant mothers were paid to offer up newborn children to prospective parents. For any aspiring parent about to embark on the arduous and expensive process of adopting a baby from another country, theirs was a cautionary tale. Geoffrey Shannon, the chairman of the Adoption Authority of Ireland, pointed out the seven advisory notices in 15 months, warning prospective adoptive parents not to enter into private arrangements in Mexico. The country signed up to the Hague Convention, which allows for inter-country adoption between signatories such as Ireland. According to an account given by their Mexican lawyer, Carlos Montoya, however, these Irish couples did everything by the book and paid thousands in fees. "These couples were desperate to have children. All they wanted was the affection that goes with having a family of their own, so they handed over the money," he told one newspaper yesterday. The couples have not been identified, despite a list of names floating about in Mexico. But according to their lawyer, they had all the necessary papers required from the Irish authorities to adopt a baby from another country. According to their lawyer, the couples alerted the adoption authorities to their intention to adopt in Mexico and trawled the internet for a legal adviser. That led them to a US firm, which in turn referred them to a legal adviser based in Guadalajara, a city in western Mexico. The lawyer, Carlos Lopez, later claimed to the authorities that he had arranged adoptions for about 60 Irish couples over seven years. With the adoptions to be finalised through the Mexican courts, the process seemed legitimate, if expensive, with couples paying upwards of $30,000 (€23,000). Babies were pledged before they were born. Prospective parents were sometimes asked to pay for the pregnant mother's medical expenses and when babies were born, they were asked for more money upfront and urged to fly to Mexico within 15 days. The sums involved were in the thousands, according to the couple's lawyer, Mr Montoya, who explained: "When they'd arrive here, they would be charged more money for expenses, about $4,000 extra. "They would also have to pay the lawyers' fees, which would be another $4,000. They had to pay $38 a day in nanny services for the children already born. And for the unborn children, they had to pay the mother's hospital costs before she gave birth." On arrival in Mexico, the parents were urged to stay in a hotel in Guadalajara and then travel from there to Ajijic, a tourist resort on the coast. According to accounts in Mexico last week, the babies were delivered to the couples in their hotel rooms, to allow them to bond with them. They believed that the babies were unwanted and had been left by their mothers in welfare centres for adoption. However, the arrest of a 21-year-old mother almost a fortnight ago suggested a different scenario. She was reported to police by her sister-in-law for allegedly trying to sell her babies for adoption, sparking the investigation that unravelled a suspected illegal adoption racket, involving Ireland and Italy, which is thought to date back more than 20 years. By Friday, police had detained seven women and two men and 10 babies had been placed in state care. Four of the babies showed signs of sexual abuse. Seven of the babies had been with Irish couples. Carlos Lopez claimed that he had been duped. On Thursday, 15 Irish men and women gave statements to the police in Mexico, after which they were urged to return to Ireland by their lawyer, Mr Montoya. It appears that the Mexican authorities believe the Irish couples are innocent. The state prosecutor reportedly said that the Irish had "done nothing illegal". There are lessons to be learnt from this salutary tale. The discovery of this alleged baby-trafficking ring could raise uncomfortable questions about the provenance of other Mexican babies procured for Irish couples for adoption. The Minister for Children, Frances Fitzgerald, told the Sunday Independent: "Obviously, for any couple who have been caught up in this, it's a nightmare scenario. Inter-country adoption can be fraught and this is why you have to have procedures. "If a baby has been registered here and if the Adoption Authority has satisfied itself that everything has been done according to the procedures, then clearly one would expect that those are de facto legitimate adoptions." By Maeve Sheehan and Gerard Couzens, Sunday January 22 2012

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Date:: 22 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:40:28

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Discussion on Child Abuse at Lissue House and Forster Green Hospitals “Health Minister Edwin Poots told MLA she felt aggrieved that no-one had been prosecuted over alleged child abuse at Lissue House and Forster Green hospitals, on 18 January 2012”……….. Following complaints about historic abuse from patients at the hospitals in the 1980s and early 1990s, a review was carried out by an independent consultant. It was completed in 2009 but never published. Its contents were only revealed in 2011 after a leaked copy was given to the Irish News. Mr Poots told the assembly health committee that where there had been evidence of abuse it had been passed to the police. "We have not been in a position where we could safely bring someone to court and prove beyond all reasonable doubt that they have been engaged in abuse," he added. Committee chair Michelle Gildernew of Sinn Fein said the documents given to members "made absolutely harrowing reading" and had left her "very shaken". Pressed by Ms Gildernew on the question of action against hospital staff, the minister replied: "You're looking to the wrong people when it comes to prosecution because our task has been to collate the information." He said considerable effort has been made to recover information and it had been passed to the police. Mr Poots outlined the Cabinet Office inquiry that had been set up to find the staff member who had leaked the information to the press. He said it was not a question of "whistleblowing" as confidential information appeared to have been removed from HSE files. Ms Gildernew expressed concern for members of staff who felt "sullied" by the Cabinet Office inquiry. She said she supported the person who leaked the information if it had not been dealt with in an appropriate manner by the authorities. The committee chair said health service staff were "petrified of putting their hand up" and called for a change of culture in the department of health. At the outset of proceedings the minister said there had been "absolutely no attempt to cover up these allegations or hide them from the public or police". Sunday 22 January 2012

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Date:: 22 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:42:25

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Bethany Homes to be brought to big screen....... It was the film that put the plight of the abuse suffered by former residents of the infamous Magdalene Laundries into the public eye. Now a filmmaker is hoping her latest project on the lesser-known Bethany Home will emulate the success of 2002 movie The Magdalene Sisters and help its survivors in their quest for justice. The movie will tell the life story and include the decades-long battle of one of the few remaining survivors of the Protestant-run former institution for unmarried mothers to receive compensation. Former residents of the Bethany Home, from where the bodies of 28 children who died are still unaccounted for, have never been financially compensated, as they were excluded from the recently-closed Redress Scheme. But survivors argue that the levels of neglect and abuse at the centre - which hit the headlines in 2010 after 219 unmarked graves of former child residents were discovered - were on a par with those of the many Catholic-run institutions which qualified for redress. And they claim they have been continually snubbed simply because they were Protestant. But former resident Derek Leinster, who will be the main subject of the biographical movie which will chronicle his early childhood and long-running campaign for justice, says he hopes the film will finally shame the Government into action. Italian filmmaker Eleonora Volpe said she felt inspired to make a movie about Bethany, having read the book Hannah's Shame, which chronicles 70-year-old Mr. Leinster's life story, including his 20-year search for his birth mother, Hannah. The Drogheda, Co. Louth-based director has since sent a proposal to the Irish Fim Board in the hope of securing funds for the project and is working on developing a script. Ms. Volpe, who has been invloved in film and documentary production since 1985, said she believes the movie, which she plans to film in Co. Wicklow as early as next summer, has the potential for global success, as it contains such "a powerful story". She said: "Derek Leinster will be the central character in the film and once we've got the funding and start filming, I plan to use five or six actors to portray him at different ages. "It's an inspiring story and one of great resilience. I'd hope the film would help Mr. Leinster and the other survivors get the publicity they need to help them in their fight. But I'd be even happier if they got justice even sooner and I'd be able to give the movie a happy ending." Mr. Leinster, who's based in Warkwickshire in Britain, said: "I'm never going to give up in the quest for justice and the film will add a lot of awareness and help make things happen for us. The world needs to know that it wasn't just the Catholics in Ireland who suffered." Bethany survivors suffered a number of setbacks in their fight for compensation last year - most recently when their demands to be included in a new investigation - set up to examine the State's involvement in the Magdalene Laundries - were turned down in October by the Irish Government. Mr. Leinster has since vowed to take the case to the United Nations. By Nick Bramhill. January 2012

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Date:: 23 Jan 2012
Time:: 11:04:50

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Children’s groups critical of Government failings...... Government failures to protect children’s health, welfare and rights are still rife despite commitments to do better in all areas, the national coalition of children’s organisations has warned. The Children’s Rights Alliance’s first annual ‘report card’ on the Fine Gael-Labour administration is expected to say the Coalition’s performance is an improvement on its predecessor but that it still has a long way to go to deliver on the promises made in the Programme for Government. In particular the ‘Is The Government Keeping Its Promises to Children’ report raises serious concerns about the detention of children in prison 10 years after legislation ruled the practice unacceptable. Giving the Government an ‘F’ grade on the subject, the Alliance warns that the continued detention of boys of 16 and 17 in the Victorian-era St Patrick’s Institution on the Mountjoy campus breached domestic and international human rights law. It also made no sense economically and was no assistance to society in general given the high rate of repeat offending that the outdated institution produced. Plans were made to replace it with a new custom-built detention school and €70,000 was spent on gates to the earmarked construction field but last month’s budget excluded further funding to progress the project. Liam Herrick, director of the Irish Penal Reform Trust which is a member of the alliance, said it was a major failing. "There has been a long-standing government commitment to treat children in an appropriate manner and a long-standing failure to do so." Concerns include: * Under 18s mix with adult inmates in some areas and activities. * A third of under 18s request protection but that means locking them up 23 hours a day. * Under 18s who are not convicted but on remand awaiting trial are held there. * Most family visits to under 18s take place behind screens with no physical contact allowed. * Under 18s there have no recourse to the Children’s Ombudsman. * The regime is punitive rather than rehabilitative and recidivism rates among those detained there are high. Mr Herrick said there was a need for clarity on the plans to replace the institution. "There is no funding allocated to the project as we speak but the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs has said it is still possible and we very much hope that she is right." The Children’s Rights Alliance, which comprises more than 90 voluntary and charitable organisations working with or for children, began its annual grading exercise of government performance in 2009. The last government’s final grade, based on an overall assessment of progress on children’s health, education, material wellbeing, safeguards and rights was a D-minus. The latest report, to be published today, is expected to award a higher overall grade, noting improvements such as the creation of a dedicated Department of Children and Youth Affairs. By Caroline O’Doherty, Monday, January 23, 2012

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Date:: 23 Jan 2012
Time:: 11:06:47

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Child protection issues - Continually letting the young down..... As a largely Christian country, we profess to be particularly concerned about the welfare of children, but ultimately we have had a dismal record when it comes to the protection of vulnerable young people. This issue has been at the heart of some of the biggest scandals that have rocked this country in the last three-quarters of the century. The controversial Mother and Child Bill in the 1950s, was designed to tackle the country’s high infant mortality rate — at the time, the highest in Western Europe. In hindsight, it seems absurd that we could have got into such a political muddle with the Catholic hierarchy over trying to tackle this issue. In time our infant mortality has been largely redressed, and it was significant in the past week that expectant mothers were being transferred from Royal Maternity Hospital in Belfast to hospital in Dublin to avoid the danger of infection. While it would seem that this country has made great strides in the area of infant care, the same cannot be said about the protection of older children. For decades our authorities lacked the courage and the integrity to tackle the issue of child abuse, especially clerical paedophile abuse. Although the government of Albert Reynolds was brought down over its handling of the clerical paedophile issue in 1994, we have had a whole series of scandals since then, involving various governments as well as the Catholic hierarchy. Of course, there are different aspects to child protection. The Children’s Right Alliance (CRA) — which is made up of more than 90 voluntary and charitable organisations — is due to publish its first annual report today. It is expected to say the current coalition’s performance is an improvement on the performance of its predecessors, especially with the establishment of a dedicated Department of Children and Youth Affairs. Nevertheless this government — like the successive governments before it — has failed dismally to protect children’s health and welfare rights in some ways. The CRA raises serious concerns about the continued detention of children, ten years after legislation deemed the practice unacceptable. Boys of 16 and 17 are still being detained in St Patrick’s Institution in conditions reminiscent of the Victorian era. A previous government made plans to build a modern detention school, and €70,000 was spent on the constructions of gates to the earmarked site. No money has been allocated for the remainder of the project. The school remains little more than a dream, its gates standing as a monument to bureaucratic bungling. Nobody should be surprised at the high rates of recidivism within our youth correctional institutions. The regime is being run on a punitive basis, rather than seeking rehabilitation. Mixing impressionably young offenders in some areas with older criminals is a recipe for breeding crime. This issue ought to be tackled without further delay. Monday, January 23, 2012

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Date:: 23 Jan 2012
Time:: 11:07:43

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Fitzgerald performs U-turn on adoption tracing rights......... Retrospective information and tracing rights are to be offered in the upcoming Adoption Bill, in a significant U-turn by Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald. The move has been broadly welcomed by groups representing adopted people, who had feared that tracing and information rights were only to be offered in relation to future adoptions. Ms Fitzgerald seemed to confirm these fears last year in a radio interview with Pat Kenny, when she said such rights could only be offered going forward. However, in a meeting last October with representatives of the Adoption Rights Alliance (ARA), Ms Fitzgerald said that the heads of the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill were being prepared and would "provide for information relating to adoptions which have taken place prior to the commencement of the Act". The minister stressed these rights would be made available subject to the constitutional rights of the persons involved. "In relation to the balancing of rights, the assistance and advice of the Office of the Attorney General in the development of the legislation is being sought," she said. ARA have repeatedly said the conservative interpretation by agency and HSE social workers of the I O’T v B judgement, as well as outdated attitudes towards adopted people and their natural parents, have had a detrimental effect on the release of information to adopted people. Susan Lohan of ARA also welcomed plans by Ms Fitzgerald to centralise adoption records but urged the minister to ensure that all files containing information on adopted people’s origins be included, such as mother and baby home files, private agency files, HSE files, Department of Foreign Affairs files, GP files and nursing home files. "The safeguarding of all files is of the greatest importance, particularly for those who had been illegally adopted," said Ms Lohan. "A new Adoption Information Bill would mark the end of an almost 60-year delay in legislating for adoption information rights. When it is considered that the first people adopted under the 1952 Act turned 18 in 1970, we can only hope it will be worth waiting for," she said. Ireland is decades behind other countries in tracing and legislation. The right to birth records has existed in Scotland since 1930, England and Wales since 1976 and the North since 1987. By Conall Ó Fátharta , Monday, January 23, 2012

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Date:: 23 Jan 2012
Time:: 11:08:58

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No adoptions from abroad since new law was passed...... None of the almost 200 couples approved to adopt under the new Adoption Act have managed to bring a child back to Ireland. Under the act, which came into force in Nov 2010, Irish people can only adopt from countries that have ratified the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption or with which Ireland has a bilateral agreement. Responding to a parliamentary question, Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald said, although no intercountry adoptions had been registered by parents declared suitable to adopt under the new act, this was due to a number of factors. "It should be noted that waiting times between the sending of an application pack and the actual completion of an adoption in sending countries may vary greatly and may extend to as much as three years or more in some cases." "Furthermore, some jurisdictions require a two stage process which entails post-placement reports being submitted during an initial period of guardianship before an adoption is approved and finalised," she said. The Adoption Authority has issued 178 declarations of eligibility and suitability to people wishing to adopt from abroad since the introduction of the new act. Meanwhile, Ms Fitzgerald has also confirmed that an adoption agency accredited to work with Vietnam should be in place at the start of February. Ireland ceased adopting children from Vietnam after it chose not to resume its bilateral agreement in May 2009 following concerns in Unicef’s International Social Services report. The US had suspended adoptions from Vietnam in 2008 after it uncovered evidence of baby selling and "baby farming". It is believed Ireland’s decision was influenced by similar concerns. The suspension remains in place until "fundamental reforms are in place to ensure a transparent child welfare system that has the best interests of the children as its first priority", the state department has said. By Conall Ó Fátharta , Monday, January 23, 2012

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Date:: 23 Jan 2012
Time:: 11:17:50

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Sentence for sex assault increased...... A Tipperary man who kidnapped and sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl 11 years ago has had his sentence increased following an appeal by the State. The Court of Criminal Appeal found that the three-year sentence imposed on Joseph Finnerty (47) by Mr Justice Barry White in November 2009 was unduly lenient and increased it to four years. However, Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan, presiding, said the court would suspend the final year of the new imposed sentence, having regard to the fact that Finnerty has served virtually the entirety of his original tariff and is due for release next month. Finnerty, Grove Villas, Roscrea, had denied the false imprisonment, aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault of the now 25- year-old woman in a car he drove to a remote Co Offaly woodland on November 6th, 2000. At his Central Criminal Court trial in October 2010, Mr Justice White had directed the jury to find Finnerty not guilty of aggravated sexual assault after medical evidence concluded the physical injuries the girl sustained were consistent with sexual assault, but not rape. The jury convicted him of false imprisonment and sexual assault following a six-day trial. Finnerty lost an appeal against that conviction in November 2010. Mr Justice Finnegan said the assault merited a significant sentence, as the appeal court had considered the dramatic effect it had had on the victim, including evidence that the attack had destroyed her life, had led her to feel suicidal and had resulted in problems in her married life. Finnerty’s false imprisonment of his victim was also a most serious offence. Dominic McGinn SC, prosecuting, said it was hard to imagine a more serious case of sexual assault. Mr Justice White committed a “serious error” by giving Finnerty credit for a lack of any subsequent convictions for violent crimes, in circumstances where he had in fact two convictions for assault and one for drink-driving which post-dated the offence. Monday, January 23, 2012

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Date:: 24 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:55:55

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Irish couples 'had adoption papers'..... At least 15 Irish citizens have been questioned about an apparent illegal adoption ring in western Mexico The Irish couples ensnared in an apparent illegal adoption ring in western Mexico thought they were involved in a legal process and are devastated by allegations organisers were trafficking in children, the families said. "All the families have valid declarations to adopt from Mexico as issued by the Adoption Authority of Ireland," they said in a statement read over the phone by their lawyer in Mexico, Carlos Montoya. Prosecutors in Mexico contend the traffickers tricked destitute young Mexican women trying to earn more for their children and childless Irish couples desperate to become parents. For 15-year-old Karla Zepeda, the story began in August when a woman came to her dusty neighbourhood of breeze block homes and dirt roads looking for babies to photograph for an anti-abortion ad campaign. Karla said the woman, Guadalupe Bosquez, asked to use her nine-month-old daughter Camila in a two-week photo shoot for 755 US dollars, a small fortune for a teen mother who earns 180 US dollars a month at a sandwich stand and shares a cramped, one-story house with her disabled mother, stepfather, and three brothers. Ms Bosquez later returned with another woman, Silvia Soto, and gave her half the money as they picked the child up. She got the rest two weeks later when they brought Camila home. Before long, the message spread to her neighbours. Seven other women, most between the ages of 15 and 22, agreed to let their babies be part of the ad campaign. Some already had several children. Some were single mothers. Two of them didn't know how to read or write. Five of them said they did not even have birth certificates for their babies when they came across Ms Bosquez and Ms Soto. One said she needed money to pay for her child's medical care. All deny agreeing to give their children up for adoption. But instead of just posing for photographs, Jalisco state investigators said Camila and other babies were left for weeks at a time in the care of Irish couples who had come to Mexico thinking they were adopting the children. Camila and nine other children have been turned over to state officials who suspect they were being groomed for illegal adoptions. And authorities hint that far more children could be involved: Lead investigator Blanca Barron told reporters the ring may have been operating for 20 years, though she gave no details. Prosecutors also say four of the children show signs of sexual abuse, though they did not say how or by whom. Nine people have been detained, including Ms Bosquez and Ms Soto, but no one has yet been charged. At least 15 Irish citizens have been questioned, the Jalisco state attorney general's office said, but officials have not released their names and their lawyer says all have returned to Ireland after spending weeks or months in Ajijic, a town of cobblestone streets and gated communities 37 miles away, trying to meet requirements for adopting a child. None was detained. In their statement, the Irish couples said they would not comment further because of the ongoing investigation. Tuesday, 24 January 2012

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Date:: 24 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:57:12

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Government gets C+ on child issues.......... The Government must do better on children’s health, child poverty and the protection of children out of home if it is to fulfil its promises to the country’s youngest citizens. An assessment carried out by the Children’s Rights Alliance on behalf of more than 90 organisations working with children gives the Government an overall C+ grade for its efforts at safeguarding children’s welfare — the best grade a government has received since the annual exercise began in 2009. However, "glaring violations" are also highlighted, with an E grade awarded on the subject of child poverty following the harsh measures introduced in last month’s budget which will see a loss of income for many families. Another fail grade, an even lower F, was given under the heading of children in detention. The failure to progress plans for a proper detention school to take children in trouble or suspected of being in trouble with the law out of St Patrick’s Institution was described as "inexcusable". A D grade, which the alliance rates as a "barely acceptable performance with little or no positive impact on children’s lives", was awarded for progress on alcohol and drugs. Failures highlighted included the long-overdue national addiction strategy, the abolition of the Office of the Minister for Drugs and the lack of firm measures to tackle the sale of cheap alcohol. D grades were also given for the confusion surrounding responsibility for, and lack of progress on, the strategy for tackling child poverty, the lack of action to prevent child homelessness and lack of progress on supporting those who do become homeless. The highest grade awarded was a B+ for child literacy, although a C was given in the same subject grouping for supports for children with special educational needs. Children’s Rights Alliance chief executive Tanya Ward said it gave some satisfaction to see an improvement on the last overall grade given to the previous government, a D-. But she stressed the report card was not all good news, with poor performances evident in critical areas. "The Government is allowing an austerity-driven recession to trample on the rights of children and their families and it is also failing to act on the incarceration of young people in St Patrick’s Institution." Ms Ward continued: "The grades awarded in Report Card 2012 are based on the new Government’s intentions. Next year, in Report Card 2013, we will be basing our grades solely on deliverables." The report card awards grades under 19 headings in five main subject groupings. The best overall group grade, a B, came under Children’s Rights, mainly because of the promise that a referendum will be held this year and that efforts will begin on reforming patronage and pluralism within primary education. By Caroline O’Doherty,Tuesday, January 24, 2012

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Date:: 24 Jan 2012
Time:: 10:58:06

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Third of Church property to be still handed over.......... Nearly a decade after the controversial indemnity deal for religious orders was signed, only two thirds of properties agreed have been legally handed to the State as part of the compensation agreement for abuse victims. Latest figures show that 40 of the agreed 61 lands and buildings were legally transferred to the State by last month. The slow negotiations saw only three extra properties transferred across during the last six months. So far, just 65% of properties worth €40.9 million under the deal, have been transferred to the State by religious orders. The agreement was originally signed on June 5, 2002. Correspondence from the secretary general of the Department of Education reveals 21 properties remain to be fully signed over to the State. "The Congregations have agreed to transfer these properties under the indemnity agreement, subject to good and marketable title being furnished," wrote Brigid McManus in her letter to the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee. "Physical transfers of the properties have taken place and all of these properties are in use or available for use by intended recipients. While they have transferred physically, the Chief State Solicitor’s office continues to pursue the legal requirements issue under the indemnity agreement." But committee chairman John McGuinness yesterday called for an end to the dragged-out talks on the properties and said the Government needed to press Church authorities to close the deal. "It has been a slow and painful process to get the Church to focus on this and deliver the deal. From the latest information, there needs to be a concentration of minds so the properties can go across with full title. The State needs to push the Church authorities on this." Of the lands yet to be fully transferred to the state, 12 are in Cork and four are in Waterford. The others are in Westmeath, Limerick, Dublin, Monaghan, Kerry. The €40.9m transfer of properties so far is separate from extra cash payments which form part of the €128m deal for religious orders. Religious groups have agreed to contribute €54.5m in cash, €10m for counselling services and €63.5m in property transfers. By Juno McEnroe, Tuesday, January 24, 2012

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Date:: 24 Jan 2012
Time:: 12:30:56