Call for inquiry into abuse allegations

A ‘Ferns-style’ commission of inquiry should be set up to investigate the extent of the Sinn Féin abuse allegations, after it was claimed the party is aware of more than 100 attacks that were covered up by the provisional IRA.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin and justice spokesperson Niall Collins urged the Government to establish the investigation yesterday, insisting it is not possible for garda or PSNI inquiries to uncover the depth of what happened by looking at isolated cases.

During a tense Dáil debate on the scandal, Mr Martin said “the only way” the issue can be fully uncovered “is through a commission of inquiry” similar to the Ferns and Cloyne clerical abuse investigations, which could find out “who was involved” in kangaroo courts and “complicit” in withholding information.