Waterford Council have called on Minister of Justice Jim O’Callaghan to publish the report into convicted paedophile Bill Kenneally.
The motion, brought by Councillor Declan Clune, asked “members of Waterford City & County Council call on the Minister for Justice Mr. Jim O’Callaghan TD to publish, without delay, the final report of the Commission of Investigation examining the years of sexual abuse perpetrated by Bill Kenneally and how complaints about his crimes were handled by authorities.”
“This motion is about one thing and one thing only,” said Cllr Clune, “and that is helping to get closure for the survivors of the convicted paedophile Bill Kenneally.”
Cllr Clune also explained the origin of the report, which was established following another motion by Waterford Council.
“On January 11, 2018, in this very chamber, we passed a motion calling then Minister for Justice to establish a Commission of Investigation into the crimes of paedophile Bill Kenneally. Two weeks ago the final, completed report, by former High Court judge, Michael White, was sent to Minister and Secretary General of the Department of Justice,” he said.
“This brought to conclusion a more than 8 year public enquiry examining how state agencies and organisations handle reports of Kenneally’s abuse,” explained Cllr. Clune. “The decision to publish the report now rests solely with the Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan.
“Survivors of Kenneally’s abuse, some of which were present in this chamber in 2018, have waited long enough for official recognition for the truth of their experiences and have waited patiently for the enquiry process to be completed.
“I am calling on Minister O’Callaghan to release without delay the final report and give survivors the closure that they fully deserve.”
Mother and Baby Home learnings
This motion was seconded by Cllr Mary Roche who said she was honoured to do so.
Cllr Roche reminded councillors that one of the survivors who waived their anonymity had been her brother-in-law, and that at the time of conviction Kenneally was convicted of abusing 10 boys but has since been convicted by abusing even more.
“These men had their teenage years hijacked from them. They have had this for 40 years in their lives and they have been waiting10 years since they began to campaign for this Commission of Investigation,” she said.
Cllr Roche called on the report to be published with haste, but only after the survivors had been duly contacted.
“I would ask that them to learn from the release of previous reports from Commissions of Investigation, specifically the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation, which was leaked to the press before the survivors were spoken to.
“That’s entirely inappropriate and I would ask that the Minister take steps to ensure that that doesn’t happen,” Cllr. Roche added.
Cllr Joe Kelly echoed the calls to learn from the past, as he suggested that delaying this report would be reminiscent of dark moments in the Irish history.
“We have a great history in this country of delaying the publication of reports, often by decades. The call to have it published as soon as possible is indeed appropriate and I believe it is the correct action,” Cllr. Kelly said.
“What I would hate to see is an element of holding something up for the sake of holding it up, or for particular interests. The main interest here is the survivors and indeed the rest of society who need to learn lessons form that report … there’s been enough delays.”
Mayor Seamus Ryan added his voice saying it was not often that motions of that gravity come before the Council.
“I know the men. I meet them on a weekly basis. This has hijacked their lives the whole way up. I’m not sure what effect it will have but we would be failing in our duty if we didn’t first of all debate it here today and secondly make this call that Cllr Clune has proposed,” Mayor Ryan said.
The motion was passed with unanimous support.
Minister for Justice Reply
Upon the announcement that the Kenneally report was to be published, The Munster Express contacted Minster for Justice asking for an update and publication date.
The press office for the Department of Justice replied with the following statement: “The Commission submitted the report to the Minister this week and it will be prepared for publication, following consideration of appropriate legal advice”.
“The Department will engage with the victims prior to publication.”
AARON KENT Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
