Dempsey hits back over Laffoy crisis

NOEL DEMPSEY came out fighting last night with an extraordinarily robust rebuttal of Ms Justice Mary Laffoy’s criticisms about his handling of the Child Abuse Commission.

In a hard-hitting response that came as a surprise after the Taoiseach's conciliatory comments earlier this week, the minister vigorously denied that the Government had stymied the commission's work or had left its chairperson powerless.

But while he dismissed Ms Justice Laffoy's criticisms one by one in no uncertain fashion, he came under a barrage of criticism from both the opposition and victims for failing to bring forward concrete proposals to help the commission continue its work in the immediate future.

All he would say was that the Cabinet had agreed on proposals charting the way forward but that these proposals would be published "in the next couple of days" after consultation with victims' groups.

In his 13-page rebuttal, Mr Dempsey rejected Ms Justice Laffoy's accusation that there was a delay in setting up schemes for legal costs and for compensating victims. He insisted the commission's work had not been hampered as a result.

Mr Dempsey said he could not accept that adequate resources were not provided to the commission and stated the Government rejected Ms Justice Laffoy's central charge that the commission had been left powerless because of the lack of Government support or co-operation.

He did accept that the review of the commission's remit had "created some uncertainty" but said he believed that spending time now on finding a more effective way for it to work was "time well spent".

He insisted there were no plans to diminish the commission's powers under the review.

"The reverse is more accurately the case." He added that it was still his view that Ms Justice Laffoy's suspension of the work of the investigative committee was "not a legal option".

Mr Dempsey insisted he had kept in contact with Ms Justice Laffoy continuously in recent months and that her resignation came as a "bolt from the blue".

But his response was in sharp contrast with the impression created by a series of letters passed between him and Ms Justice Laffoy since December in which the judge repeatedly stated that she was being left in an "impossible" position.

Victims' groups last night demanded answers as to where the commission goes from here. Colm O'Gorman of One In Four called on the Government to publish its proposals immediately.

"The Government seems to be operating on the basis of two conflicting principles the search for justice and the desire to protect the purse strings. It needs to state clearly which one will be the clear priority."

Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte said Mr Dempsey's condemnation of Ms Justice Laffoy did not disguise the "catalogue of obstruction" on the Government's part.

Fine Gael's End Kenny said: "No litany of excuses can disguise the fact that Justice Laffoy decided to resign as a result of the Government's actions which rendered her commission powerless."