State investigation into paedophile Michael Shine should begin 'immediately', report says

Lorcan Staines insisted that any public inquiry undertaken must be carried out as expeditiously as possible.

A SCOPING EXERCISE into the Michael Shine abuse case has found that a Commission of Investigation is both “required” and should “start immediately”.

In March, Lorcan Staines SC was appointed by the Department of Health to carry out a 16-week scoping exercise.

Staines’s report was formally submitted to the Department on 3 July and published on the department’s website this morning.

In his executive summary, Staines wrote: “I recommend a six-phase Commission of Investigation to be established by way of statutory instrument pursuant to the Commission of Investigation Act 2004.

“I further recommend that the Commission should be chaired by one person and that all six phases can and should run concurrently and start immediately.

“The approach is designed to avoid an inefficient and lengthy process and to provide a workable form of State response to the issues raised.”

Staines insisted that any public inquiry undertaken must be carried out as expeditiously as possible.

“Given the significant passage of time since the events the subject of this scoping exercise occurred, I am also of the view that any State response should be bespoke and tailored to the specific issues raised, as well as carried out as expeditiously as possible.”

The first four phases would look at the garda response and actions taken by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the Medical Council’s response, circumstances surrounding Shine’s 1996 retirement and current patient-protection policies.

The fifth phase would be an independent ‘Truth and Recovery Process’.

Staines insisted that this “should be a distinct, victim-centred and non-adversarial module, commencing promptly and running alongside preparation for the more formal stage of the investigation”.

The sixth phase should be a “comprehensive investigation into the actions of and events surrounding the abuse” to determine “what was known, by whom, and at what stage (if anything)”.

The report stated: “It should examine the full extent to which relevant bodies received complaints, information, warning signs or indications of risk concerning Michael Shine, what actions they took in response, and whether their actions were adequate and timely in the circumstances as they then stood.”

The report, however, does not recommend the publication of the Smyth Review. Staines stated that the question of its publication “should be revisited only after the Commission of Investigation has concluded and its final report has been published.”

His findings confirm a need for further action on the part of the State to investigate long-standing claims by victims that authorities failed to intervene and stop the abuse.

Staines wrote: “I have formed the view that, given the number of victims and survivors (currently standing at over 400), and the significant issues raised by them which have not previously been examined sufficiently (or at all) a further State response is required.”

Victims and survivors of convicted sex offender Michael Shine have said they hope today’s milestone report marks “the beginning of the end” of their decades-long fight for the truth.

Cianan Murray told The Journal: “It’s all very positive. Maybe at long last, it’s the beginning of the end, hopefully.”

He commended Lorcan Staines’s handling of the case and said that the report is well written and easy for all victims to engage with.

“It’s good reading. He doesn’t have any big fancy words, so I’m very happy with it,” he added.

But he cautioned that they are still a long way from the end.

“It’s still a long road, but like I say, it’s the beginning.

“I’m 70 now. I was abused in 1972 and there’s men going into the 80s now and a few men dying off every year.

“You’d like them to get some kind of closure before they die. There are some men who were abused as far back as 1964.”

Cianan said that he is eager for the Commission of Investigation to start as early as possible so witnesses can be called before it is too late.

He said that he is particularly interested in the testimony of former colleagues of Michael Shine at the Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda who were called to give evidence at Shine’s first criminal trial in 2003.

Victim Larry Torris said that the report “truly represents what has been said for decades”.

Mr Torris spoke of his positive experience engaging with Lorcan Staines SC and Gemma McLoughlin Burke BL, saying that he felt “listened to for the first time”.

Commenting on the tone of the report, Mr Torris said: “It sounds almost like he is saying everything back, that we have been saying.”

Another victim, who cannot be identified, said: “I just finished reading it and am shocked by certain parts. If the government refuses a public inquiry they will be an utter total disgrace.”

Meanwhile, another man said: “It is excellent and hopefully sets in motion the wheels for establishing the Government inquiry as he outlines.”

Dignity4Patients CEO Adrienne Reilly described today’s publication as “a historic moment”.

Reilly said: “Everyone at Dignity4Patients is very pleased that this has happened today.

“It is a historic moment in that at least finally there is something on the record going towards full vindication of all of the victims and survivors of convicted sex offender Michael Shine.”

Reilly paid tribute to the woman who first exposed Shine’s crimes and detailed the horror she endured for speaking out.

“When whistleblower nurse Bernadette Sullivan put her neck on the line back in 1994 by reporting the mishandling of the first complaint she was threatened, her career was threatened, she was told she would lose her home. It was horrific.

“All because she was someone in the medical profession who did not want little children and young people sexually abused in her workplace, where they were accessing healthcare, or as we would say ‘there to be minded’. Think about that.”