Harney accused of trying to bury Shine report

HEALTH Minister Mary Harney has been accused of attempting to bury a Government commissioned report into alleged sex offender Michael Shine after claiming the document will not be published for the “foreseeable future”.

On Monday, the Irish Examiner revealed that the report, which was meant to take just 10 weeks to complete and may form the basis of a formal inquiry into Mr Shine, had yet to be published three months after its initial deadline.

The person behind the document, retired judge TC Smyth, had been specifically asked to examine complaints from at least 180 individuals that they were abused by Mr Shine at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, between the mid-1970s and mid-1990s.