Ryan report - Policy is fine, but delivery is better

“The damage caused by a culture that tolerated and even encouraged physical, sexual and emotional abuse for decades will not be undone by words alone. It is by implementing this action plan that we will win back the trust of those whom we abandoned.”

THESE fine words were spoken by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Barry Andrews yesterday as he launched the Government’s response to the devastating Ryan report. They acknowledge that a culture of evil existed and that children were abandoned to it.

Mr Andrews also acknowledged that action rather than words is needed to re-establish that the State, and the Catholic orders involved in the terrible abuse, have reached a new understanding of what is required to play a constructive role in the lives of vulnerable children.