Dáil Éireann, Tuesday, 14 July 2026

I join the Taoiseach and the Minister for Justice in delivering this apology to the survivors of the abuser, Bill Kenneally.

This moment has come about because of their bravery and tenacity, their motivation to protect others from the horrors that they endured and their willingness to relive the trauma of the horrendous abuse inflicted upon them to ensure that justice was done.

I would like to acknowledge the work of both Judge Barry Hickson and Judge Michael White, and in particular Judge White for bringing this arduous process to a conclusion.

The Commission Report is a detailed and thorough assessment of the justified public concern raised by the grievous crimes which were committed.

Whether named or unnamed, the extraordinary testimony of witnesses to the Commission of Investigation is an act of great courage.

In their young lives, they were the victims of monstrous evil, and their vulnerability was increased by the impunity with which Kenneally perpetrated his atrocities.

Too many warning signs were missed, too many opportunities to intervene were lost, and too many people who should have been protected were instead left vulnerable.

The systems of church, state and society that should have safeguarded children failed in their most basic duty.

The consequence of that failure was that abuse continued, victims suffered, and justice was delayed for far too long.

Regardless of the standards of the time, they were children who should have been protected, not abandoned to depravity and despair.

In 1985, a 14 year old boy walked all alone into Waterford Garda Station and reported that he had been abused by Bill Kenneally.

The Garda officer spoke to him at the counter and told him he needed to have a parent present as he was too young.

The Garda did not speak to him in private, attempt to contact his parents or offer to bring him home.

Despite Kenneally having been named as an abuser, no effort was made to investigate.

The Commission’s report tells us that 11 of the 25 adult complainants were being abused in 1985. I want to recognise that includes survivors who are with us here today in the gallery.

This underlines the grave significance of this missed opportunity, which was, most regrettably, one of many.

The report tells us that the pattern of activity by Kenneally was becoming much more noticeable from 1985 on and yet we know that he was not brought to justice prior to a formal complaint by Jason Clancy in November 2012, who was the first incredibly brave victim to come forward.

I have heard Jason tell a story of a photograph of his under-11 soccer team. In this picture of 13 boys from all over Waterford who were only connected by playing soccer for Bohs, six of them were abused by Kenneally.

This simple, innocent photograph demonstrates just how prolific the activities of this abuser were, while multiple systems failed to protect children and bring him to justice.

Even after Kenneally made admissions of his own terrible crimes, he was not brought to justice and was allowed to continue to abuse children.

The truth emerged not because systems worked as they should, but because survivors refused to give up.

Faced with disbelief, silence, intimidation and enormous personal trauma, they persisted.

They carried a burden that should never have been theirs to carry.

The apology today is a testament to their courage, resilience and determination.

They forced institutions to confront uncomfortable truths and ensured that future generations would know what happened.

This led to the report the Minister for Justice published last month, which has shone a light on the clear and serious dereliction of duty which allowed the prolonged grooming and abuse of so many boys, on so many occasions in so many locations, with such unimaginable levels of depravity.

The Commission’s words are stark:

During the period of his activity any young boy who came under his influence was at risk.

As reflected in the sentence of 18 years and eight months imposed, and upheld on appeal, these were serious offences which have had a lifelong impact on the victims and their families. His crimes were cruel and exploitative.

He was intelligent and manipulative and an expert at grooming children by developing trust and affection but also using fear.

He used alcohol, money and gifts to assist in grooming and in the commission of the offences. Many of these boys had never consumed alcohol before being introduced to it by Bill Kenneally.

The harrowing victim impact statements republished in the Commission report so very clearly communicate the pain and suffering of the abuse as it happened, and the lasting effects throughout the later lives of the survivors.

The words of Judge Eugene O’Kelly at the sentencing hearing in 2016 are striking:

The abuse has had a profound and long-lasting effect on all of you.

Some of you have suffered and some continue to suffer from alcohol dependency and other addictions. Many of you have disclosed depression and one has attempted suicide.

Family life and relationships have suffered, education and consequently advancement in life has been hampered. All of you have been made to suffer from feelings of fear, shame and guilt, emotions that none of you should have had to endure. You have all been robbed from the innocence of a carefree adolescence for not better reason than to satisfy a paedophile predator’s actions.

I know that within those victim impact statements and in some of your public comments, the support of loved ones through all the consequences of the abuse you suffered, has been an act of enormous importance and an act of great love. This is their day too.

The Commission report illustrates that the Irish State through its laws, services for children, sex education and awareness, and the operation and insight of its frontline services such as An Garda Síochána and Health Boards, was historically blind to sexual abuse operating beneath the surface.

While there may not have been outright collusion, this institutional blind eye combined with those who shielded and covered up for paedophiles allowed abuse to persist in the shadows.

The report tells us that children were silenced by the shame of it and also their inability to articulate the horrible things happening to them. On occasions when it was articulated, people were not listening.

From an analysis of the complaints made to An Garda Síochána from 2012 onwards, Kenneally’s targeting of young boys for abuse was intense during the period from 1978 to 1987. This involved some activity which was observable.

By late 1987 many people including those in responsible positions were aware that he sexually abused children, but nothing appropriate was done in all that time.

When a complaint was made by the father of a victim in 1987, the most serious of information was now in the possession of the Gardaí, but a decision had been made that Kenneally would be given a warning and referred for psychiatric treatment or counselling.

I know the survivors believe that this was a moment which empowered him with a sense of invincibility.

The Commission report identifies a litany of deficiencies which arose from this approach, and this is the clear and serious dereliction of duty which occurred and which cannot be explained away by the standards of the time.

How much pain and suffering might have been avoided had justice been served when it should have been.

The Commission report observes that Irish society from bitter experience now knows that sexual exploitation of children can come from all sources. We owe it to children to maintain our vigilance.

These words must ring in our ears always, and I know that, for all that the survivors of Bill Kenneally have endured in their long fight for justice, that would be their greatest wish.

There is a powerful symbolism in the fact that those who were once vulnerable young boys in Waterford are here today to hear the State acknowledge its failures.

Children who were abandoned by systems that should have protected them now stand with dignity and strength at the heart of our national parliament.

Their presence is a reminder not only of the wrongs that were done, but of the extraordinary resilience of those who endured them.

Today, it is not the institutions that command our respect. It is the survivors.

Their courage has brought us to this moment, and their voices have ensured that the truth can no longer be ignored.

For all that you suffered at the hands of your abuser and all the years that he was not brought to justice, we are truly sorry.

Like the Commission, we hope that this apology can bring some peace of mind and we salute your courage and resilience.