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The School of the Sacred Heart in Carrignavar, Co Cork. Six of the 17 missionaries accused of sexual abuse are connected to the school. Google Maps

Missionaries of the Sacred Heart: Priests admitted abuse but authorities weren't told

Summary of the main findings of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland into the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.

THE SOCIETY of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart was aware that some of its members had admitted to the sexual abuse of children – but failed to report those admissions to the legal authorities or even to other Church authorities, a report has found.

The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland (NBSCCC) report found that in several cases, members who were accused of abusing children had admitted to that abuse but that these admissions were not reported to the Gardaí or HSE.

In some cases, when admissions were forwarded to Gardaí, the society did not forward any more details – such as admissions about the frequency or form of the abuse – which hampered the ability of Gardaí to investigate it, the report said.

In at least one case, crucial information about a priest who had admitted to abuse had not been passed on to other Church authorities under whom that priest was now looking to work.

In some cases, when asked about the abuse allegations against them, priests not only admitted to those cases but also named other children who they recalled abusing. In one case, this included details of the form and frequency of the abuse.

There is no record of this information being forwarded to legal authorities, and “little evidence that any appropriate preventative actions” were taken by the society in respect of those priests, the report said.

This was the case even though the society’s files showed that senior members of the order were aware of the allegations and had discussed them with officials in Rome.

“The picture that emerges from the files is that important child protection information that was held by the Society was not passed on to those who needed to know it. As a consequence it was not taken account of by them,” the report states.

This failure to communicate was not only directed at the Garda Síochána or the HSE but also applied within the Society itself. As a result, a misleading impression held currency amongst members of the Society as to what the true incidence of abuse allegations was.

Their awareness bore no relation to the true situation that existed.

17 alleged abusers, but an unknown number of victims

Allegations of sexual abuse were made against 17 of the society’s members are various times between the late 1940s and early 1990s.

The bulk of the allegations made in the report focus on three members who worked for several years at Sacred Heart College, a secondary boarding school in Carrignavar, Co Cork. A total of six priests who worked at the school have been connected with abuse allegations.

One of those six was subsequently convicted of abuse in a diocese in the Irish midlands, where he had been moved after allegations of abuse were made against him while he worked in a highly-regarded boarding school run by the society in England.

Of the 17 members accused, six are dead, seven are out of ministry and three have left the ministry. One member – against whom one allegation was made – remains in active ministry, as the congregation has it had not been substantiated. Of the 17, nine have admitted to abuse.

The total number of alleged abuse victims has not yet been fully established, however, as the figure is continually growing due to new complaints being received. As of May 21, a total of 61 complaints had been received.

The report discusses how victims said the response of the society was “uncaring and aggressive” – a response that took its toll.

At least one victim died by suicide where it was noted that clerical abuse was a contributing factor, if not the main cause, in his death. Other victims have been known to engage in self-harm. Another was warned of potential legal action against him if he persisted with an allegation.

The report says it is not clear if “sufficient attempts were made to respond to victims in a pastoral way”.

Response of the society ‘deeply flawed’

The practice of the Missionaries in dealing with allegations was “deeply flawed”, the report said, with leaders failing to “discharge their responsibilities to protect vulnerable young people” who had come into contact with members who had admitted to abuse, or against whom credible allegations were outstanding.

“They appeared to maintain a culture of secrecy which allowed known abusers to continue to live within the community without the full extent of the suffering that they had caused to vulnerable young people being known by their fellow members,” the report said.

There was no adequate attempt made by anyone to manage risk that was known to exist relating to the placement of offending members in the society. Other members with whom they would have contact were not even informed of the fact that they were a risk.

Even the society’s own child protection policies were not adhered to in some cases, or were compiled with only “in a nominal way”.

In at least one case in 2004, critical information about the past history of an alleged offender was not shared with the society’s Advisory Panel, “and a decision was made that the Gardaí would not be informed of new concerns about him” – apparently because this would disrupt the running of a school in which the alleged abuser was working.

[A] great deal of suffering [...] could have been prevented but those who should have taken action to prevent it either chose not to do so or were effectively blocked from doing so by a wall of secrecy which did not permit child protection information to be shared.

People who were aware that some priests had admitted to abuse “saw no need to report that fact to the Garda Síochána” – and though discussions were held with the society’s Superior General in Rome, these were purportedly only verbal in nature.

This is given as an example of a lack of understanding of the gravity of the allegations being made, the report said – holding up the society as an excellent example of why the current safeguarding policies have been adopted and must be adhered to.

Society said all allegations had been reported – but was wrong

The report also notes that the Society had been incorrect when it declared last summer that all allegations of sexual abuse known to them had been reported to the appropriate legal authorities.

The order had been catapulted into the public eye after Fianna Fáil senator Mark Daly named one of its members as having had allegations made against him in the Seanad chamber last July – remarks which were protected by parliamentary privilege.

When inspectors reviewed files of the order’s headquarters in Terenure the following month, it became clear “in a very short period of time” that its files contained admissions by priests of alleged abuse – with no indication that the admissions had been passed on to Gardaí or the HSE.

“It was also clear that important gaps existed in the case records. Documentation that related to important meetings was not in the files. This made it impossible to understand why decisions had been taken,” the report states.

At one point the NBSCCC review was suspended to allow members search for missing materials, but none were found. Subsequently, more information and complaints had come to light which gave grounds for the Gardaí to undertake formal investigations, which have begun in the meantime.

Recommendations

Seven recommendations are made for the society, namely the following:

  1. Co-operate fully with Gardaí and share all supporting information which could help investigations of abuse;
  2. Create a risk management plan with the HSE to deal with each known member against him a credible allegation has been made, or who has admitted to abuse;
  3. Appoint a delegate to provide support to a new leadership team as they seek to address the matters addressed
  4. Prioritise the support of victims and find ways to reach out to them to provide redress and support
  5. Create a coherent and fit-for-purpose safeguarding framework which complies with that adopted by the Catholic Church nationally
  6. Notify the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Holy See’s top theological watchdog, about all members who are the subject of credible allegations, in order to decide how to deal with each allegation
  7. Agree a date by which a further investigation, reviewing its progress, should be undertaken.

The images below show tables from the NBSCCC report analysing the Order’s performance in meeting the national standards for safeguarding.

Missionaries of the Sacred Heart
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  • Missionaries of the Sacred Heart

Society offers unreserved apology

The provincial of the society has admitted that the congregation failed in its attempts to engage with many people who reported allegations of sexual abuse against its members.

“While efforts were made in recent years to provide counselling, to meet with victims and report allegations to the authorities, it is abundantly clear that we failed in our attempts to reach out to many people who reported allegations to,” Fr Joseph McGee said, offering an unreserved apology to victims.

We express our deep and sincere sorrow to all those who did not receive a proper response from us after they had shown the courage to report abuse or to express concerns about the possibility of abuse occurring. [...]

Some of our members have breached a sacred trust and caused deep hurt for individuals and their families. We will do everything possible to deal openly and honestly with this. We recognise that we have also let down many people who have put their trust in us and been part of our work over the years.

“What is revealed in this report causes a sense of outrage among our dedicated and hardworking members who must live with the reality that some of our colleagues have abused children,” Fr McGee said.

In full: The NBSCCC report into the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (PDF)

Diocese of Clonfert: “No written procedures for management of allegations”>

Diocese of Cork and Ross: Delays “in some cases in informing the statutory authorities”

Diocese of Limerick: ‘Prompt referral of allegations to the statutory authorities’

More: Findings of child protection reviews published

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10 Comments
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    Mute 087 bed
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    Oct 26th 2024, 8:04 AM

    RSA and not fit for purpose, NCT is a shambles, driving test is a nightmare, road conditions are a mess, So with that record I’m sure it will get increased funding and powers.

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    Mute Peter J H
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    Oct 26th 2024, 8:59 AM

    @087 bed: what’s wrong with NCT?

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    Mute Toca Stories
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    Oct 26th 2024, 9:14 AM

    @087 bed: nothing wrong with the nct.

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    Mute Sun Rise
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    Oct 26th 2024, 11:12 AM

    @087 bed: Nothing wrong with the NCT and road conditions are far from a mess. They have never been of a better quality. You keep whinging and moaning if it helps you excuse the miserable life you created fir yourself.

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    Mute Thesaltyurchin
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    Oct 26th 2024, 1:11 PM

    @Sun Rise: Lol! 75% of deaths happen on roads that have been the same size for 100s of years. The utopian society you mention is in your head.

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    Mute Alex
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    Oct 26th 2024, 1:13 PM

    @Thesaltyurchin: Road size doesn’t matter. Another uneducated turd like you spreading BS.

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    Mute Alex
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    Oct 26th 2024, 1:14 PM

    @Thesaltyurchin: if you drive like a turd, you will crash, period. And Irish are definitely bad drivers with a licence so easy to obtain it’s a joke,

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    Mute Thesaltyurchin
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    Oct 26th 2024, 1:20 PM

    @Alex: Yea those octogenarians are a real speed hazard, lol! Stay on the bus Alex.

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    Mute Jason Walsh
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    Oct 26th 2024, 11:28 PM

    @087 bed: And they’ve lazily used GDPR to stop access to accident data which is vital information for road safety engineering, not one other European country used that excuse. Don’t scrap the RSA just get them to do their darn jobs. Fire folk if needed.

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    Mute Kangaroo Kev
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    Oct 26th 2024, 8:24 AM

    How come no one is asked where the money is spent? How much are they paying staff, CEO ect.

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    Mute Thesaltyurchin
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    Oct 26th 2024, 1:17 PM

    @Kangaroo Kev: Did we not pay attention the first time around. The governments policy is a “campaign of awareness” so 100s of millions in advertising space and media time to keep beating the same drum, over and over… it’s never worked, will never work but is a great cover for actually doing anything in the transport space, maybe thats why we haven’t built ANY infrastructure in 20 years!! 20 years and people on here are like ‘the road quality has never been better’, mind boggling. I agree with the author tho. usually in ireland when we berate something for not working it’s because it’s underfunded in the first place, never really has a chance to work. (also a shrewd business strategy but, I digress). We need leaders of vision, no jobbing accountants looking to play with numbers. People who can build the roads/trains/services we need and then organis everyone accordingly… never happen

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    Mute Sami Hentunen
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    Oct 26th 2024, 8:51 AM

    I would personally blame the actions of an unsafe driver for killing a pedestrian on a pedestrian crossing.

    Government and RSA can nanny all they want, but if the drivers don’t take personal responsibility for their apalling driving and stretching the rules nothing will change. The selfish driving and not considering the other road users is the norm. Many drive on the physical limits like unruly children, and instead of personal responsibility we have speedbumps which seem to be the only way to control the speeds that really has any effect.

    “Crap driving kills”.

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    Mute Mitchell
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    Oct 26th 2024, 7:46 AM

    Leo is incorrect, the RSA are not being disbanded. The mundane stuff like vehicle registration, testing, etc. will be under a different body. Road safety will still be the RSA’s remit. The biggest issue is the lack of management & accountability within the organization. Doubling penalty points is unlikely to have that great an impact. You can pass your test at 17 and you never have your driving skills tested again! About time a ten year retest or training required for all drivers.

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    Mute Karen Marten
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    Oct 26th 2024, 12:56 PM

    @Mitchell: absolutely staff for ncts and driving tests need retraining . Every time go for nct there is always 1 or 2 with bad attitudes and failings for silly little things . They not happy doing the same job over and over then they fail u .

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    Mute Thesaltyurchin
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    Oct 26th 2024, 1:21 PM

    @Karen Marten: ‘fail you for silly things’… like you fail the test or you dont I would have thought?

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    Mute Bills n Stuff
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    Oct 26th 2024, 7:39 AM

    RSA are a joke, they need to go, or be fully replaced. What have they done or what campaign have they launched this last few years???

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    Mute Joe Kelly
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    Oct 26th 2024, 9:23 AM

    @Bills n Stuff: typical, blame rsa because drivers don’t want to drive within the law. These divers are adults but need to grow up.

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    Mute james lynch
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    Oct 26th 2024, 10:28 AM

    @Joe Kelly: 60% drop in road deaths since 2007, introduction of ADIs, introduction of compulsory training. They can’t enforce the laws and people need to take responsibility for their own actions.

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    Mute Thesaltyurchin
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    Oct 26th 2024, 1:23 PM

    @james lynch: The irony is that our numbers are down yet we’re still screaming at each other, beautifully played marketing department.

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    Mute Colm O' Shea
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    Oct 26th 2024, 7:47 AM

    The RSA been disbanded is not about getting rid of the functions, it’s about breaking it into to seperately organisations. 1 to look after driver testing etc and 1 to solely focus on road safety.
    The government is saying the RSA is bogged down with testing and doesn’t have enough bandwidth for safety.
    Whether true or not, it’s not a ridiculous idea to allow an organisation to focus on specialist area

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    Mute D Farrell
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    Oct 26th 2024, 9:03 AM

    @Colm O’ Shea: I agree that the two new bodies to replace the RSA are a good idea, as each needs to have different supervisory and management styles. One process and mechanical, the other more marketing and infrastructure focused.

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    Mute Eugene Comaskey
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    Oct 26th 2024, 9:15 PM

    @D Farrell: So we are going to end up with two very expensive QUANGO s instead of one??. RSA are a useless outfit except for those who work in it,– surely a great organization for all of them. The money that they spend should go to providing a fully dedicated Roads Policing Service with plenty of cars and motorcycles and jeeps travelling on all roads and pulling over the dangerous drivers . I’m not a great fan of fixed penalties, just haul them before the Courts and dish out suspensions ,– put them off the roads for 6 months .

    4
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    Mute Paddy Whelan
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    Oct 26th 2024, 8:46 AM

    Anyone who is handed a driving ban of more than 3 months should have to retake their driving test. Also no going back to court to have their licence restored before the ban has been served.

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    Mute ZQxm3oeu
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    Oct 26th 2024, 9:23 AM

    @Paddy Whelan: I’ve always wondered that. If someone clocks up 12 points and loses their license. When can they get it back? Three years or when the furthest points come off their license? They should have to do theory and lessons and test again! But

    6
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    Mute Tom Newell
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    Oct 26th 2024, 10:27 AM

    I have yet to see one article where the RSA ever called out the state of Irish roads, oh wait silly me they are funded by the state so wont bite the hand that feeds them…..we do need an RSA just not one thats clearly not another bloated quango like RTE, Irish Water etc

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    Mute james lynch
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    Oct 26th 2024, 10:29 AM

    @Tom Newell: more or less self funded so check your facts

    3
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    Mute Brian D'Arcy
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    Oct 26th 2024, 11:15 AM

    The ‘republic’s’ solution, get rid of something, give it a different name performing in the exact same manner. Quango’s galore with management on ridiculous money, it will never change. Maybe get more Gardaí on the roads, oh, sorry, thou shall not accuse McEntee of complete and utter incompetence.

    6
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    Mute Nigel McAtamney
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    Oct 26th 2024, 11:05 AM

    Drive LicenceTesting, and it’s current format should be removed from the RSA in its entirety. It’s outdated and unfit for purpose. So many variants of basic controls from different manufacturers, it’s an area where it’s getting quite hard to deliver universal instructions.

    Some of the newer smart cars will tell you when the car is ready to change gear where the rsa instructor disagrees and marks it down as bad gear transition. This is only one example of where instructors are having problems with newer technology in vehicles.

    I also don’t believe the theory test covers enough driver safety. This surely should be one of the areas where a driver must do a dedicated safety session, possibly as long as two hours, incorporated into the driving lessons portion of obtaining one’s licence.

    3
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    Mute Bernadette Mulvihill
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    Oct 26th 2024, 4:28 PM

    Working in the industry and teaching and experiencing 1st hand what people do to us and other road users is disgraceful.. The whole area needs to be looked at. People don’t follow rules of the road, if they did things would be different. How many people run stop signs, red lights, zebra crossings, break speed limits, its actually crazy watching this behaviour every single day. All this needs to be addressed. More traffic police for every violation of the rules of the road needs to be out there. Not just in cities, all over the country. More cameras needed. Drivers from other countries need to be educated also. It’s all a shambles and it just goes on and on. We are the people on the ground and we see what needs to be done so why do the RSA not…….!!!!

    2
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    Mute Derek Lyster
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    Oct 26th 2024, 3:12 PM

    Poor driving is a huge factor in a lot of crashes. Driving out of town yesterday and someone on a motorbike overtook me doing a wheelie while they were speeding, like wtf, did he/she think they were cool or were they trying to impress someone? If I had a dashcam I would 100% give the footage to the Gardai. Some of the driving you see is actually scary and every county should have a 24/7 traffic corps. Education clearly isnt getting through to some people so enforcement is the only way to get through to them.

    2
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    Mute Thor24/7
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    Oct 26th 2024, 10:51 AM

    There are at least two local road sections near me where somebody has almost been and others will be killed due to both road and driver error. Is there a forum or hotline to draw attention to these.
    Lusk

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    Mute Thesaltyurchin
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    Oct 26th 2024, 1:29 PM

    @Thor24/7: Watching two lorries try to pass each other on a regional road last week, some poor granny got too close and the lads had to jump down to reverse her car… mad sh!t Was thinking the same at the time, there should be a way to communicate hazardous roads, but that would sort of be highlighting the lack of investment so not sure what organisation would do that to themselves. They would need to be in governemnt to improve society as opposed to individual or party gain (which is what we have) Maybe if set up by the public, could be quite successful Thor! Would be shocking tho

    1
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    Mute R. Gantly
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    Oct 27th 2024, 1:03 AM

    Government will privatise RSA functions as someone sees dollar signs in it …NCTS for instance !!. They are already kite flying that it’s loosing 20 million a year….LOOSING 20 MILLION !!

    This is the same road we went down with Irish Water and it failed.

    Privatising any part of the RSA will end in disaster. The RSA is fit for purpose. Our lilly livered government isn’t.

    Typical bull like gardai wasting time trialing a truck to see if it works when they could have just got 12 of them and get straight at it !!!! But no, government won’t provide the funding. The is what’s wrong , no courage , no out of the box thinking and no urgency doing anything while people die.

    Drew Harris is the man to blame here , he should be SCREAMING for funds, he’s not.

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    Mute Eugene Comaskey
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    Oct 26th 2024, 8:59 PM

    Absolutely the RSA should be shut down, it is like the HSE,– a top heavy orginasition paying huge money to CEO and C/Man and members of Boards . Another useless QUANGO . They waste huge money of useless adverts on RTE and making video’s etc. what is required id strengthening of Road Policing by getting more cars manned by Gardai out onto the roads and stop all this crazy driving . But sure the Government cannot get young people to join the Guards because they won’t pay them decent wages .Hopefully a new Government and new Minister for Justice and an Irish Commissioner might change things for the better .

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