Laffoy resignation - Government evasion must end

It was probably inevitable that the pressure on the Government would increase as a result of its inept handling of the Laffoy resignation.

Instead of speaking out immediately, the ministers concerned delayed, which merely compounded the Government’s existing credibility problems. The delay in confronting the issue exacerbated the difficulties.

Christine Buckley, who suffered the indignity of having insult added to injury when she spoke out about the abuse at Goldenbridge some years ago, was calling yesterday for the resignation of Minister Noel Dempsey over his handling of the overall issue. The minister and the Taoiseach exposed their own failure to grasp the issue by saying that they were astounded at the number of complaints, even though those only amounted to small fraction of the overall cases.

Part of the problem is that no government has ever had the courage, or the will, to face up to the sordid facts surrounding the widespread abuse of children by religious in this country. Those problems were covered up and ignored for decades.

Now this Government, which has already been exposed as dreadfully inept in this area, must deal with the problem. We’ve had too much prevarication already.