Worry about funding redress scheme for abuse in schools runs deep
The decision by the Government to
establish a commission of investigation
into allegations of historical sexual abuse in schools is likely to be the easiest part of the process. A programme for government commitment, and a recommendation from the scoping inquiry into the matter, its establishment was a foregone conclusion in many ways. However, much thornier issues remain – most prominently, the issue of redress.
While welcoming many aspects of the Government announcement, abuse survivors' groups expressed disappointment that the issue of redress has been delayed. Minister for Education
Helen McEntee
said on Tuesday that the Coalition considers 'a further phase of detailed investigation and data analysis on this issue will be essential'. McEntee made all the right noises about going after the organisations – primarily religious orders – who ran the schools. But the State's record in extracting sufficient cash from these orders to pay for historical abuse is both a sorry and a long one.
Going back to last September, when the scoping inquiry report was published, senior government figures have emphasised two things consistently: Firstly, that redress must happen, and quickly – Simon Harris, taoiseach at the time, said such a scheme could not be 'parked' until the statutory inquiry was complete. But privately, the second issue they fret about is the cost. Public statements heaping pressure on orders to pay up are just that: statements. Meanwhile, the worry about the tab and its impact on the exchequer runs deep. In 2023, officials in the Department of Education outlined that a broad scheme would expose the exchequer to 'unquantifiable and potentially enormous costs'. Earlier this year, officials in the Department of Public Expenditure warned that the recommendations from the scoping inquiry have the potential to 'very significantly impact on public finances'.
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There is both a political and a moral imperative behind establishing a redress scheme. But there is also a cold hard reality to funding it. For now, victims do not know what they'll get, or when, or if they'll get redress at all. There is no clear or established path to ensuring religious orders pay towards a scheme. And the State cannot confidently measure its liability, nor ignore the risk of footing the bill.
The tension between these competing points is likely to increase in the years ahead.
Fees conundrum
The issue of how much families will have to pay for college registration fees next year continued to dominate proceedings in the Dáil yesterday and last night, culminating in a Sinn Féin motion on the topic, while students protested outside the gates of Leinster House.
Read Marie O'Halloran's report here
.
While it lacks the heat of last week, the issue is unlikely to totally fade away any time soon. The Opposition knows the Government is in a bind on it – it cannot, by its own admission, provide a straightforward answer on the fees question without pre-empting the budget process. Meanwhile, it provides an evergreen angle of attack for the Opposition parties on the cost-of-living debate, something which they have all shifted focus towards in recent weeks. More of that this morning, with a Social Democrats motion on transparency in supermarket profits.
Make no mistake about it, the budget wars are already under way. And after years of watching while government parties disbursed huge amounts of exchequer funds to voters, the Opposition will not hesitate in attacking.
Best reads
Ellen Coyne has the latest on
medical evacuations of sick children
from Gaza to Ireland.
We report on
Pa Daly's High Court challenge
to the super juniors at Cabinet.
Miriam Lord
on the mileage to be had out of the student charges debate.
Conor Gallagher pays a visit to the
sanctioned Russian ship
in Killiney Bay.
Cliff Taylor on the latest twist in Trump's tariff tale and
what it means for Ireland
.
Playbook
The Dáil kicks off at 9am with topical issues, before a motion from the Social Democrats at 10am on transparency in supermarket profits.
Leaders' Questions is at midday, followed by Other Members' Questions and Questions on Policy or Legislation.
At lunchtime there will be statements on last month's European Council meeting, before government business in the afternoon is given over to statements on the all-island strategic rail review.
The Mental Health Bill goes through its report and final stages at 5.06pm, followed by the Statute Law Revision Bill going through the same process. Seanad amendments will be taken on legislation governing supports for survivors of residential institutional abuse, followed by the committee and remaining stages of the Planning and Development Bill.
Seanad
The Seanad sits at 10.30am for commencement matters. In the afternoon, it will take the second stage of the Defamation Bill and consider an Opposition Bill providing for paid leave following miscarriage.
Government business will be given over to social welfare legislation reforming bereaved partner's pensions. There will also be statements on the Post Office network before the Seanad adjourns at 7.50pm.
Committees
Pre-budget submissions from NGOs are the order of the day for the social protection committee at 9.30am, while the health committee will look at legal and policy gaps in adult safeguarding following the recent RTÉ report on nursing homes.
The disability matters committee will look at the delivery of disability policy, while unmanned aircraft systems are to be discussed by the transport committee – including an appearance from former Dublin GAA manager Jim Gavin, who is also chief operations officer for the Irish Aviation Authority.
Minister for Higher Education James Lawless is in with his sectoral committee at 12.30pm to discuss revised estimates. Later in the afternoon, the infrastructure committee will discuss the role and remit of the Courts Service, while the agriculture committee holds a session on farm safety. Both of those are at 3.30pm.
The Taoiseach is doing revised estimates for his department with the finance committee at 4pm, before a general engagement at 5pm. Peter Burke has the same job at the enterprise committee at 6.30pm, while at the same time, the foreign affairs committee continues its pre-legislative scrutiny of the Settlements Bill.
Here's the
full Oireachtas schedule
.
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Irish Times
25 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Mother and two children killed in Co Fermanagh shooting are ‘irreplaceable', funeral told
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The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
How world's most depraved killers tortured victims & injected bleach in testicles before dumping bodies in acid barrels
PRIZING open the first of six barrels stored at a disused bank vault, in Snowtown, South Australia, detective Gordon Drage expected to find fertiliser used to grow illegal cannabis. But, after releasing a stomach-churning stench he discovered the vats contained something far more horrific - the dismembered remains of multiple murder victims. 19 John Justin Bunting was convicted for his role in the grisly killing spree and sentenced to life imprisonment Credit: Getty Images 19 Robert Joe Wagner was also arrested after police found eight hacked up bodies stuffed in barrels Credit: AP 19 The remains of up to six people were discovered in a disused bank vault in Snowtown, a small village near Adelaide Credit: Reuters And the chilling find, in 1999, led police to uncover Australia's Over a period of seven years, twelve people had been tortured, murdered, decapitated and dismembered, their bodies left to rot in barrels or Meanwhile their killers, led by psychopath John Bunting, profited from their victims by selling their possessions and withdrawing their benefit payments. Bunting, described as a "charismatic" leader who made his victims call him "God", "Master" or "Sir Lord" during vile torture sessions, recruited a gang of followers to assist in his heinous crimes - including a stepson who helped to murder his own siblings. What makes these crimes all the more shocking is that many occurred while Bunting and his followers were under active police surveillance. Now the killing spree is revisited in a new Crime+Investigation documentary, Bodies in the Barrels, with interviews from the detectives and scientists who were first to uncover the horrific scene in Snowtown. Forensic psychiatrist Richard Furst explains that Bunting, who had a pathological hatred towards gay people, drug users and paedophiles, would use the trauma of abuse victims to manipulate them into doing whatever he wanted them to do. Forensic psychiatrist Richard Furst says: 'This crime sequence is quite unusual in that a lot of the victims were known to Bunting and his followers. Most read in The Sun "The recruitment and victim selection very much fitted what he was projecting, which was the hatred towards paedophiles, hatred towards gay people. 'I think there is a charisma that you might see in a lot of cults. People within a cult, do things because there's a greater motive, and they have a sense of belonging and allegiance.' Chilling position missing girl's body was found in as new details on heartbreaking final days with 'killer' dad revealed Killer squad 19 Robert Joe Wagner, John Justin Bunting and Mark Ray Haydon were all suspects in the killing spree which found between six and 12 bodies in acid vats Credit: Getty 19 The exterior of the bank in Snowtown where police discovered the bodies in vats stored in the vault Credit: News Pictures 19 Gordon Drage, a Former Forensic Officer, originally thought the smelly barrels contained fertilised water for cannabis plants Credit: Crime+Investigation John Bunting had had a trouble childhood, wasn't academic and had a fixation with killing animals and dropping insects into acid. One of his first jobs was as an In the 90s he lived in the marginalised, working-class suburbs of Adelaide, Australia, where he recruited a faithful flock of acolytes. They fancied themselves as righteous In fact, most of their victims were not paedophiles, but loners and outcasts. Bunting would invent excuses to justify his bloodlust, and with the assistance of his friends, conspire to steal the government benefits of those they monstrously tortured and murdered. His first accomplice was the easily manipulated Robert Wagner who had a troubled childhood and had been the The next key player Bunting met was Elizabeth Harvey who he soon moved in with. She perceived John Bunting as some sort of white knight, a saviour, if you like Jeremy Pudney She too was vulnerable. Her husband had died, but her children had also suffered abuse at his hands. He essentially became step-father to her children, one of whom was James Vlassakis, who Bunting took under his wing. James hero-worshipped him. Local journalist Jeremy Pudney says: 'She perceived John Bunting as some sort of white knight, a saviour, if you like." Journalist Peter Overton adds: 'But Bunting wasn't a saviour for this vulnerable family he was their downfall. "He would soon groom them and manipulate them into committing the Twisted torture chamber In 1994 , two farmers discovered a It would take several years for police to discover that the body belonged to John Bunting's first victim - Clinton Tresize - who had been bashed to death with a shovel after being invited into his home, two years earlier. His second victim was a man called Ray Davies who came to Bunting's attention after he exposed himself to children in the neighbourhood. In late 1995, he was ambushed, handcuffed, dragged into a car and driven to the house Bunting shared with Elizabeth Harvey. Bunting, Harvey and Wagner tortured Ray Davies with jump leads and beat him to death. Over the next four years, more and more people disappeared from Adelaide's north and investigators began to link these missing persons cases, suspecting foul play may have been afoot. Several of the bodies had ropes around their necks, others had gags in their mouths Forensic pathologist, Roger Byard In August 1999, the trail led to Snowtown, South Australia, a desolate and dusty hamlet which is little more than a battered collection of rundown buildings on the side of a highway. Officers investigating five of the missing had been watching three suspects and were following a suspicious four wheel drive vehicle that had been under surveillance. When they got to the address where the car was, they were told by a resident that it had been driven there by John Bunting and it had smelly barrels in it. When asked what was in them, John Bunting claimed they were the carcasses of dead 19 Clinton Tresize, John Bunting's first victim Credit: News Ltd 19 Barry Wayne Lane's body was found in the abandoned State Bank building in Snowtown Credit: News Pictures 19 Elizabeth Audrey Haydon was also found in the abandoned State Bank Credit: News Pictures Police discovered that the barrels were now in a disused bank across town. Former detective Gordon Drage says: 'At that stage, we had no suspicion of there being bodies at the bank we thought it was going to be a drug crop, we suspected that the smelly liquids was probably going to be fertilised water for his cannabis crop growing inside the vault.' But when they got inside the bank their investigations took a sinister turn - on top of the six barrels were saws, handcuffs and used rubber gloves. A cheap couch, containers of hydrochloric acid and a machine which delivered electric shocks were also found. I think there is a charisma that you might see in a lot of cults people within a cult, do things because there's a greater motive, and they have a sense of belonging and allegiance Forensic psychiatrist, Richard Furst The police officers gingerly opened a barrel. Gordon Drage says: 'Only then did the smell come out. This was not hydroponics. That smelled very much like dead bodies.' In the first barrel, a human foot was found at the top, so they drove all six to the forensics lab in Adelaide. Forensic pathologist Roger Byard says some of the bodies were whole, others had been dismembered and all of them gave clues as to how they had reached their grisly end. 'There were handcuffs and thumb cuffs. There were plastic bags, rubber gloves they'd been using when they were dismembering the bodies. Several of the bodies had ropes around their necks, others had gags in their mouths.' Hand-picked victims 19 The murders took place in a poor neighbourhood and people were largely unemployed or on pensions Credit: Getty 19 The victims had their benefit payments withdrawn and properties sold Credit: Getty 19 Richard Furst, a Forensic Psychiatrist, doesn't believe the defrauding of the victims was a reason for killing them Credit: Crime+Investigation As police looked into the bodies from the bank vault, a full picture of Bunting's depravity began to emerge. On the wall of his home, the cold-blooded killer had a spider chart of potential victims. Some of the information had been provided by paedophile Barry Lane who had abused his accomplice Robert Wagner. Soon Lane was deemed surplus to requirements and was also tortured, beaten and murdered by Bunting, Wagner and a new accomplice Thomas Trevilyan, with his body taped up and left lying on the floor. When Trevilyan found it difficult to cope with what he had done and started speaking out, he too was murdered - with his death staged to look like suicide. But as well as sick brutality, there was also greed behind the killings. The killers would sell the Richard Furst adds: 'It was a poor neighbourhood and people were largely unemployed or on pensions, but I don't think the defrauding of the victims was a reason for "But I think it was certainly a factor in selection. I think it was the issue of a double reward. So you kill someone, but you also get money, regular income from that, and they kept on going to withdraw money from the account.' So you kill someone, but you also get money, regular income from that, and they kept on going to withdraw money from the account Forensic psychiatrist, Richard Furst Jeremy Pudney adds: 'One of the reasons this was able to go undetected for so long is some of these victims were really isolated from their families for whatever reason, didn't have many friends. And sadly, people didn't really notice when they went missing, so this is a story of how Another victim was a woman called Suzanne Allen who had had relationships with both Ray Davies and Bunting himself. When that affair ended she became a target. Despite Bunting and Wagner never being convicted of Suzanne Allen's murder, her body was found 19 Suzanne Allen and Ray Davies were buried in a shallow grave in Bunting's garden Credit: 19 Frederick Brookes was just 18 Credit: Supplied 19 Roger Byard, a Forensic Pathologist, said some of the bodies were whole while others had been dismembered Credit: Crime+Investigation The barrels in Snowtown bank Killing was easy for Wagner and Bunting, but disposing of the bodies was another matter. And this is when they recruited Mark Haydon. He had become friends with Bunting and between them they cooked up the plan to store the By 1997, police had begun investigating the disappearance of Bunting's first victim Clinton Tresize. And the group of fairly inept murderers brought together by Bunting were soon on the police radar. 19 Karen Davies, the sister of Ray Davies who was killed by Bunting, Harvey and Wagner Credit: Crime+Investigation 19 The film crew interviewed John McCready, a shop owner in the Snowtown area Credit: Crime+Investigation Cops soon discovered that missing Barry Lane's benefits were still being withdrawn. So they set up a security camera at the cashpoint and spotted Robert Wagner making the withdrawals. At first police thought they were dealing with a few missing people who had possibly had their benefits plundered. But they still had no idea there was a Incredibly, in the 16 months after the case became a missing persons and potentially a murder investigation, eight more people were killed by the gang. And the murders became more frequent and more sadistic. At least one of them had a firework sparkler put into his penis, in the urethra Forensic pathologist Roger Byard Forensic pathologist Roger Byard says: 'At least one of them had a firework sparkler put into his penis, in the urethra. There was there were stories of having the scrotum injected with bleach, of being electrocuted, of having their toes squashed with pliers.' Soon Bunting brought his stepson James Vlassakis into the murder team - encouraging him to help in the killing of his own half brother Troy. He was beaten, dragged from his bed and handcuffed before having his toes crushed with pliers. He was then strangled. Frederick Brookes, who was just 18 and the son of accomplice Jodie Elliott, was handcuffed and tortured for hours, and his genitals electrocuted, before choking on a gag. The next victim was disabled local Gary O'Dwyer, tortured for hours and recorded, pleading for his life. Bunting and Wagner then murdered Elizabeth Haydon, the wife of their accomplice Mark Haydon, attacking her in her own home before gagging and strangling her. It was her disappearance that made police realise this was a much more 19 Court sheriffs lead accused murderer, Robert Wagner, from the old bank Credit: Getty But incredibly the watch wasn't 24/7, and it was during one of the blank spots that the pair murdered another of Vlassakis' step-siblings, David Johnson. Lured to the bank in Snowtown by his stepbrother, Johnson was murdered in May 1999, before Bunting and Wagner cooked and ate a piece of his flesh. This was to be the last murder the killers committed. Days later, the investigators finally stumbled on the horrific scene in Snowtown and arrested Bunting, Wagner and Haydon in dawn raids. James Vlassakis later handed himself into police, consumed with guilt about what he had done. His interviews brought police to further victims, and revealed a whole new depravity to Bunting and Wagner's crimes. Wagner was convicted of ten murders. Bunting, the ringleader was convicted of 11. They were both given a mandatory life sentence meaning they will never be released. Read more on the Irish Sun James Vlassakis confessed to four murders and was jailed for life. Mark Haydon was convicted for his role in disposing of the bodies, but was released from prison last year under a supervision order after serving almost 25 years behind bars. Bodies in the Barrels premiers on Crime+Investigation and Crime+Investigation Play from Sunday 3 August at 9pm. 19 Detectives, scientists and reporters who were first on the scene are tell their stories as part of a new Crime+Investigation documentary, Bodies in the Barrels Credit: Crime+Investigation
Irish Times
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Woman (50s) dies after getting into difficulty swimming in Co Donegal
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