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EVERY WEEKDAY evening, TheJournal.ie brings you five things you need to know at 5pm.
1. #PUNT: Dozens of businesses in Clones, Co Monaghan are now accepting the Irish punt. One shopkeeper recently decided to start accepting the old currency in an effort to boost business, and his idea has since spread to over 40 businesses.
2. #MEDIA: TDs and senators have criticised RTÉ over its handling of the Mission to Prey programme which libelled Fr Kevin Reynolds. At a meeting of the Oireachtas communications committee today, RTÉ chairman Tom Savage was told his position is ‘untenable’ in the wake of the scandal arising from the programme.
3. #WAR CRIMES: Former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic has gone on trial at The Hague for 11 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including genocide for the massacre of thousands of Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995.
4. #JOBSWATCH: The Rehab Group is to create 400 jobs in Ireland over the next three years in areas ranging from training and education, to health and social care.
5. #TIME LAPSE: Fancy looking back over the changes the map of Europe has seen over the past 1000 years? And with a suitably dramatic soundtrack? Here you go.
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Why is it so hard to do the right thing? There should be complete transparency here.
@Fr.Todd Unctious: the fact Fianna Fáil are in government has a big part in the hiding of history
They were/are the political wing of the Catholic Church and overseen & prolonged the systematic abuse and deaths of children in “care” of the Catholic Church
@Fr.Todd Unctious: I think the problem is, people spoke out on condition of anonymity. We could have total transparency on half the story or no transparency on the full story. A far from ideal situation.
@Liam Ó hAodha: Fianna Fail buried a report into sexual abuse in the 1930′s at the request of the catholic church. It all blew up in their faces in the 1980′s/1990′s. 10,000s of peoples lives destroyed with very few people ever brought to justice for their actions. This was all well know in the 1960′s.
@Tony Harris: Names can be redacted. Happens with FOI requests, no reason why names cannot be blanked out for a published version of the report.
@great gael of Eire: Lets not forget 1994 Fianna Fáil/Labour led by Albert Reynolds, collapsed amid uproar over the revelation that the Fianna Fáil appointed Attorney General’s office had failed to act on extradition applications for serial child abuser Fr Brendan Smyth return to face charges in the 6 counties
Fianna Fáil definitely have form in covering up child abuse by the Catholic Church
@Liam Ó hAodha: and yet ppl believe that they have our health interests at heart with this mess. 2+2=5
Not content with burying them once in unmarked graves the state seeks to bury them a second time.
@Phil O’ Meara: very wrong and hard to understand. Ireland not so nice a place as some like to make it out to be.
Disgusting. The answer to such a horrific time in our history is NOT to keep it secret for a further 30 years!
Open it up. Let the light in. Correct the wrongs.
@LangerDan: completely agree. It’s scandalous that they’re trying to keep it secret. Those poor family members just want answers. Protection of the Catholic Church by the state shouldn’t be happening in this day and age. Or the states protection of itself, as it probably knew what was going on, more likely. Enough is enough. Release the information. Let people start to heal before they’re all gone.
These records and all records should be made available , I believe a museum should be built to educate people on this horrific part of our history. Let it never happen again
Similar to auchwitz!
@Lynn: If these docs were put on wikileaks you can bet your life the govt would go after the person the same way Assange is being persecuted in the UK. For something the public have a right to know.
This truly is scandalous. If some people want to remain anonymous, then redact their names from the publicly available records.
I don’t think people understand how our govt functions. If you get a chance what the TV show Yes Minister. It was made in the UK in the 80′s. There were two moles inside Whitehall who were feeding the story lines to the writers. The scenarios that happen in the episodes were based on true events. You have ministers + advisors working against the civil servants who wanted to keep the status quo. This is how our govt works today.
If these documents were made public they would cause embarrassment to the civil service. As they were implicated in the whole mess. If the documents were buried for 30 years it would allow all those people to die without the truth coming out. Well in actual fact most govt enquiries are cover ups anyway. If we compare this to the Cervical Check scandal we find an enquiry which shows no blame on any govt civil servant but provides a list of recommendations. If this kind of analysis happened in the airline industry we would have air planes falling out the sky everyday and no one getting the blame. So in this way nothing changes in the depts who go about their business keep getting their pay checks and wait to retire on a big fat pension which is the end goal. Cover up and deny and bury the evidence until no one can do anything about it. Its been like this for year and will continue like this for years to come.
@great gael of Eire: That’s a very good summation, with some interesting information on the excellent Yes Minister. Except in Ireland a lot of the time it is easy to assume their are few internal conflicts, just an entire cabal of insiders working together.
This is vile. Absolutely disgusting and coming in under the covid radar. Needs to be addressed straight away
These most certainly should not be sealed,
We’ve hurt victims before and burying these records will hurt them again!
Don’t forget, thanks to the rampant nepotism in Irish politics, many FF and FG TDs daddies and granddaddies were the ones who turned a blind eye to what was going on. This is not being sealed for the benefit of the victims
These records must not be sealed – that would be utterly abhorrent.
They’ve been kept secret for long enough already !!! When will this government just do the right thing.
No no no we cannot let this happen.People need to find their families and get closure.
Utterly reprehensible!
FFG trying to cover their crimes…
If those, directly involved in this horrific period of our history, can’t have access to these records, how can they begin to confront their past, nevermind heal from it.
To see those documents, would also legitimise their identity.
Cover up
The guilty must be protected at all costs it would appear, the abuse of the innocent continues
Who is being protected, what is the reason
This should be available. The truth for something this terrible needs to be told.
Another cover up. for some high ranking official no doubt
What politicians or judges are they covering up for?
Why does this surprise anyone? The state and church have been in cahoots since day dot. Lock them all up and, take their assets and sell it all. Land, art, bank accounts – the lot. Survivors have been treated worse than dirt but this is Ireland, this is what you get. Nothing short of outrageous.
@JustBEERbarry: queue the ‘but the church is so poor and has no assets’ replies. Save it.
@JustBEERbarry: “but” I’m first.
Makes you wonder who’s very influential backside is being covered. 30 years, a span of time in which the most culpable will likely have passed on, absolving them of any blame and accountability. What a rancid little country we live in.
Welcome to The Cover Up part ii, the sequel to Holy Catholic Ireland, the horror movie that ran for 90 years…
Wish someone in Aussie land would have adopted That fecker J Delaney….
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